Reign Of The Fang
by TheSupernova
Summary: A new enemy threatens to destroy China. Our heroes must journey to the Imperial city to stop a rising army, but it seems they are not alone in their efforts. Who are these mysterious warriors, and what is Tigress keeping from her friends? TigressXPo, ViperXCrane, Tai-lungXOC. Rewrite of my old story of the same name.
1. Chapter 1 The message

**Hey guys! I am FINALLY back to writing fanfiction, and I have decided to rewrite this story from scratch! I have deleted the old version from my profile. I'll be trying to update this every two days ok? Right, onto the story.**

**No one's POV**

It was early afternoon in the Valley of Peace, and the furious five and Dragon warrior were training on the obstacle course. Master Shifu was in The Dragon Grotto meditating. It had been two months since the defeat of Lord Shen, and things had been quiet for the residents of the Jade palace.

Po was sparring with Tigress, neither one had yet gained the upper hand. Suddenly, there was a loud thud on the training hall's doors, distracting Po. Tigress saw the opportunity and delivered a blow to the panda, knocking him to the floor. Tigress extended a hand to Po to help him up, before turning her attention to the doors.

The noise had caused everyone to stop training, they were all watching the door. Crane was closest, so he was the one to open the door.

"Its only Zeng!" He called over his shoulder. Everyone relaxed at his words and went over to meet the goose.

"I have an urgent message for Master Shifu!" Zeng exclaimed, holding up a scroll  
"He's in the Dragon Grotto." Viper said  
"We'll make sure he gets it." Tigress said, taking the scroll from Zeng.  
"Thankyou Master Tigress." Zeng said before flying away.  
"I guess someone should go get Master Shifu." Po said.  
"Good idea." Said Monkey, before everyone turned to look at Po.  
"Ok, I'm going." Po said, running off to the Dragon Grotto.

He returned with Master Shifu minutes later, who grabbed the scroll and began reading. His expression was unreadable the whole time he was reading.

"The Emeperor of the imperial city is dead." There was a collective gasp from the six warriors. Master Shifu handed the scroll to them, and they began reading.

_To the warriors of the Jade Palace  
The imperial city has been invaded and taken over. The emperor is dead. The attack is being lead by two wolves named Tao and Fang. The royal family has gone into hiding, and there is no hope of defeating this army. There is talk that she plans to take over all of China. Please do not let there be any more bloodshed. We beg of you, help us._

"Woah." Po said, having read the letter  
"We leave at dawn, training is over." Master Shifu said, leaving the training hall.

The six warriors each went to their respective rooms, packing their things for the trip. When Tigress had finihed packing, she lay down on her bed to rest. The others would be going to eat soon, but Tigress would not join them. Tigress would need her rest for the journey she would make that night.

**~That night~**

The night was cold, the air bitter. The ground was covered in a thick blanket of snow, and wind blew through the trees. Anyone who went out would be called crazy, but that didn't stop one from trying.

Tigress ran through the forests and mountains that led to her destination. Her progress was slowed by the snow that seemed to cover everything in sight, giving the forest a ghostly glow in the moonlight. Tigress herself would have been easy to spot, a red blur contrasting to the stark white snow.

Tigress never liked the snow, she didn't understand how anyone could bear to live somewhere it snowed all year. She'd taken this journey many times, and still she had little tolerance for the snow. It sprung up where her paws landed, getting caught in her fur and melting when it came in contact with her warm skin. Every journey through the snow left her soaked and chilled to the bone.

There was little time left to worry about that now, Tigress would soon reach her destination. She wondered for a moment if she was expected, but the thought was banished from her mind. Tigress was always expected.

Tigress finally saw her destination, an impressive two-storey house hidden by the mountains. As she came closer she saw there were lights on downstairs, meaning someone was waiting for her

. The door opened just as Tigress stopped running, revealing a tigress similar in appearance to Tigress. However this Tigress had white fur and spots across the back of her arms and head, and her eyes were silver.

"Mother's been expecting you, she's in the front room." She stated  
"Thankyou Chou."

Chou bowed and left Tigress, walking up a staircase at the back of the entrance hall. Tigress walked through a doorway into a small room. On one wall was a lit fireplace, the source of the light Tigress had seen. In front of it, meditating, sat another tigress with pure white fur. She to was almost identical to Tigress, but unlike Chou she was older.

"Tigress." She said, not turning away from the fire.  
"Xue." Tigress replied  
"You've heard." It wasn't a question, Xue already knew.  
"You must stop her. You succeeded last time, you defeated Fang once."  
"Things are different now. She is stronger." Xue stated plainly "My strength alone will not be enough."  
"What must we do?" Tigress asked  
"You must go to the Imperial city as planned. I will make my own way."  
"Is this going to work?"  
"I do not know. But you must go, or someone will discover your absense."  
"Goodbye Xue." Tigress said, bowing  
"Goodbye Tigress."

As Tigress left, Xue still sat by the fire, staring into the flames. Xue knew the flames could show the future, but they were too unpredictable. Xue prefered to take her knowledge from the snow. The snow was as much a part of Xue as her own thoughts, it was the source of her power.

"Is she gone?" A male voice spoke from the doorway.  
"Yes. We're leaving at dawn."  
"And Chou?" He asked  
"She not coming. Chou's our daughter, I can't take care of her in battle."  
"You need to sleep."  
"I will be there in a moment."

Xue didn't move until she was alone again. When she was, Xue stood and moved over to the window. Snow was falling gently outside, but when Xue looked she saw something more sinister. The journey would bring buried secrets to light and reignite old fueds.

"I cannot protect you this time Tigress. I cannot know how this journey will end, all I can say is good luck, sister."


	2. Chapter 2 Travelling

**Ok, so I've written another chapter for you guys! Shout out to TheAnyonymousWriter (Is that spelt right?) for your review! Anyway, onto the story**

**No one's POV**

Dawn in the Valley of Peace. Most of the Valley's residents were still sleeping, very few awake before the morning gong was struck. The warriors of the Jade palace were among the few awake, ready to begin their journey. All except one.

"Po! Wake up!" An aggravated Shifu yelled into Po's ear  
"Huh?" Po mumbled, only half awake. Shifu, fed up, hit Po with his staff  
"I'm awake!" Po yelled, leaping from his bed and landing...on Shifu "Ah! Master I'm sorry!"Po said, hurriedly moving. Shifu looked like he wanted to kill Po, but instead he took a deep breath and said  
"Everyone, we will meet at the stairs in five minutes to leave."  
"You're lucky he didn't destroy you." Mantis commented as everyone went to make the final preperations for their journey.

After five minutes, everyone had assembled at the stairs.

"Master Shifu, is it all right if we stop at my dad's shop? I want to say goodbye."  
"Of course Po, but we will not have time to stay long."

And so the warriors set of running down the palace stairs, except for Po who took one step and tripped, bouncing down the rest of the way. At the bottom of the steps Po lay in a daze, having landed on his head.

"Are you okay?" Tigress asked, extending a hand to help him up.  
"Stairs. Are. Evil." Po gasped, accepting Tigress' outstretched hand.  
"Po, we will wait here while you say goodbye to your father." Shifu said once Po had recovered.

Po left the five and Shifu and ran to his dad's shop. As always, it was packed with customers. Po tried to move quickly through the crowd, but as usual he was swarmed by villagers. He finally made it to the kitchen where his dad was cooking.

"Po! Its good to see you." The goose said, hugging his son.  
"Hey dad."  
"What brings you here?"  
"I came to say goodbye. I'm going to the Imperial City on a mission." Po explained  
"Well, be safe Po. Goodbye."  
"Bye dad." Po said, hugging his dad tightly.

Po left the noodle shop, returning to the others who were still waiting for him. Once he was back they all left the valley, running towards the imperial city.

_**In the mountains...**_

High in the mountains, at Xue's house, Chou and Xue were standing outside.

"Mum that's not fair! You can't just leave me behind!" Chou said for what must have been the hundreth time  
"You're not coming with us. This is going to be dangerous, and there will be many battles. Chou, I cannot protect you during that." Xue explained  
"But Jade will be there! You know she will." Chou protested, growing angry at her mother's stubbornness.  
"Jade is my sister, not my daughter. I cannot control her actions."  
"But she's half my age! How is that fair?" Chou asked  
"Jade grew up fighting for her life, she can take care of herself."  
"So can I!" Chou insisted  
"Chou, you will only draw attention to us. I cannot let that happen, not when your father is supposed to be dead."  
"Ok. I'll stay here." Chou finally agreed.  
"Thankyou. Be safe, I'll be back soon."  
"Goodbye Chou." Said another voice from behind.  
"Bye dad." Chou said, embracing her father.

Chou watched as her parents set off, running through the forest towards the imperial city. Chou really had no intention of staying at the house. This was going to be the biggest battle in history, and Chou was a promising student of kung fu.

Chou quickly ran upstairs to her room and pulled out an empty pack. She packed it with clothes and food for her journey. Chou knew her mother would be upset if she knew what Chou was doing, but at that moment Chou's anger was clouding her desicions. How could her mother think that Chou would willingly miss out on the greatest battle in the history of kung fu? Chou would fight in this war if it killed her.

_**In a snowy forest near the imperial city...**_

A lone figure walked among the snow-capped trees, her small feet leaving a trail in the snow behind her. Jade didn't want to be here, this forest was too unfamiliar. In reality, she didn't have a real home. A few friends who would take her in when the weather was particularly harsh was the closest she'd ever come.

She'd never been to this forest before, but now she couldn't leave unless she was summoned. She winced as she turned her head, pain shooting through her neck. She unconsciously fingered the metal collar around her neck as unwanted memories flooded her.

_Pain, fire, blood.  
Claws, knives, teeth.  
Two wolves, one young tigress.  
One held a silver collar. On the front was an intricate wolf's head made of diamond and obsidian.  
She was pinned down by an invisible force, the collar placed around her neck.  
Pain shot out from where the collar was placed, numbing her senses until she couldn't think.  
Jade felt it close at the back, and knew there was no way it would come off._

_"You're my servant now." Fang said, laughing "Don't try to run off, the further you are the more power it will drain from you."_

Jade wanted to fight, but there was nothing she could do. Running away was suicide, staying here meant the spillage of innocent blood at her hands. All she could do was wait until her sister Xue came to the Imperial City to fight her old enemy Fang.

_**In a cave on a mountainside...**_

The furious five, Po and Shifu had stopped travelling to rest for the night. Tigress had spotted a cave in a moutainside while they were running, and they'd all decided to stay there for the night. Po had started a fire and was cooking dinner, the five were sitting inside the cave talking and laughing while Shifu had gone into the forest to meditate.

Po finally finished cooking, and served up dinner. As usual, everyone enjoyed his noodle soup and soon there was only a small portion left, which was saved for Shifu.

"How long does it take to get to the Imperial City?" Po asked, realising he didn't know. If it was more than a few days they were going to run out of food, one of Po's worst nightmares.  
"Around three or four days, depending on how fast we travel. Is it important?" Tigress asked  
"I just wanted to make sure we wouldn't run out of food." Po said, making the others laugh.  
"A lot can happen in a few days. I wonder what it will be like when we get there." Viper said, causing everyone to stop laughing. The mood in the cave had suddenly become very solemn.  
"We don't even know much." Crane said  
"We know there's an army, but of what?" Monkey added  
"And taking over the Imperial city couldn't have been done quickly. To be able to do that without us hearing about it is..." Viper trailed off, not sure how to finish her own sentence.  
"Oh well, at least we won't run out of food!" Po said, smiling. Everyone laughed at this and suddenly, all the tension had left the cave.

But while everyone had been talking, Tigress had been thinking. Because she knew that Xue would go to the Imperial City, she's said so herself. Chou would never be left behind and her other sister, Jade, would most likely want to fight as well. Fang has caused nothing but pain for her family, so all her family would want to fight.

"Tigress?" Po asked, seeing that she had completely zoned out.  
"Oh, sorry Po I was just thinking."  
"Ok, well we're all going to bed now." Po replied  
"Of course, goodnight Po." Tigress said, laying down at the back of the cave on a thin mat.

Tigress had trouble sleeping that night, because one thought wouldn't leave her head. Xue, Chou and Jade would all go to the Imperial City, and so too would Xue's husband and Chou's father. So too would Tai-lung.

**Ok, so now you guys know who Xue's mysterious husband is. Did anyone guess it was him? Actually, I'm sure most of you did since I said there was Tai-lungXOC in this fic. Oh well, guess I'm not that mysterious. Review?**


	3. Chapter 3 Plans

**Hey guys, I just wanted to mention that I've got a poll up on my profile about what kind of fic I should write next. If you guys could take the time to vote I'd be really happy.**

**No one's POV  
**_**In a cave on a mountainside...**_

The night had done nothing to improve the weather, and the fire in the cave's mouth had dimmed to embers. Everyone was cold, but none more so that Tigress. She knew it wasn't normal for a tiger to be this susceptible to cold weater, but Tigress had just always hated it. maybe it had something to do with the winters she spent in the orphanage, cold and alone.

"Students" Shifu said, reaching into his pack "These cloaks will help to protect you against the cold." He pulled out white cloaks, handing one to each of his students "and will also help to disguise you while we are travelling in the snow."

Tigress put hers on, and instantly felt much warmer. Looking around at the others she could see the cloaks were having the same effect on everybody.

"I have recieved a message from the Imperial City with more details about this threat." Shifu said, handing a scroll to his students.

_Warriors, we have been able to gather information about Fang and Tao and their army. The army is made up of panthers and rhinos, and is formidabble in size. There are already at least 1000 warriors in the city, and more are arriving every day. Fang seems to be in charge, and Tao leads the army. _

_We aren't sure, but Fang seems to be looking for something. Every day she sends out warriors to take over more of China, and yet she is only taking the villages with temples and sacred places._

_But as hopeless as this may seem, please know that you are not alone. Two warriors arrived late in the night, and have begun fighting Fang. It seems they are a snow leopard and a tigress with white fur. Nobody knows who they are, but they are giving us hope. _

_A few, however, have seen them up close. We have no evidence of this, but those who have seen them claim that the snow leopard is Tai-lung. Whoever they are, please join forces with them and rid our land of this evil, we beg of you save us._

Nobody said anything as the reality set in. There was an army of 1000 waiting for them, and it was only growing in size. More of China was being taken over, and without knowing what Fang was looking for they couldn't know where her army would go next. And somehow Tai-lung was in the Imperial City, even though he was dead.

"We will stay away from all villages until we reach the city. Everyone, be alert of your surroundings panthers are known for their stealth abilities." Shifu said  
"Yes master." the five and Po said in unision.

After the distressing news nobody was in the mood to talk. All except Tigress and Shifu were thinking the same thing-How could Tai-lung be alive? Tigress was worrying about Shifu discovering her greatest secret and Shifu was worrying about Tigress learning of her past. Tigress was aware that her master knew of Xue, for once he had been her master too. But Shifu remained oblivious to the fact that Tigress even knew of her existence.

After a few hours of travelling, the warriors stopped for lunch. That, and because Po was about to pass out from exhaustion. Nobody had said a word since they'd left that morning. While they were eating, Shifu spoke

"Students, if we travel fast we will reach the Imperial City outskirts by nightfall."  
"Aw man, more running? Why?" Po complained, still slightly out of breath from running so far already. Everyone laughed at this remark.  
"Po, if we reach the city tonight we can survey the area. It will be much easier to do under cover of darkness." Tigress explained.

_**In the Imperial City...**_

Xue and Tai-lung were hiding within Fang's empire. They had found a house near the palace, abandoned by its residents. It was small, with very few windows, the perfect place to hide. Inside, Tai-lung and Xue were studying a map of the palace, marks made all over it to show where guards were stationed.

"Ok, there are rhinos stationed here," Xue said, making a mark at the entrance to the palace "and all along the outer walls." She marked this on the map.  
"What about the panthers? Fang uses them because they are masters of stealth." Tai-lung pointed out  
"I agree. We don't know exactly where they are positioned, but if we study this further we should be able to determine where they are most likely to be." Xue reasoned  
"That can wait. There is much to be done tonight, we should rest now."  
"Of course. Tonight we have to observe the palace, make sure we know where all the guards are."  
"And then?"  
"Then we come up with a plan." Xue said

_**In a snowy forest near the imperial city...**_

Jade sat high in an ancient tree, half alseep. It was late, and Jade knew she should rest but it was dangerous. This forest, she didn't know it well. The trees were too close to one another, they offered too much cover. Anyone could be hiding anywhere, and Jade would never know. The sounds of this forest were strange to her, relying on her ears to detect predators was an option.

So, when Jade heard the sound of crunching snow, she was quick to ignore it. Until she heard it again, closer now. Then she heard voices, whispering so quietly she would never have heard them without listening. Someone was in the forest.

As the voices came closer, Jade could just make out a few words. It didn't sound like Fang, so it could be anyone. There was definitely more that one, at least four of them. Suddenly, Jade heard a familiar voice among the group.

"Po, be quiet!" The voice urged "We're almost there."

Where did Jade know that voice from? It was a female voice, not Tai-lung. It wasn't Xue, her voice was more feminine. It sounded mature, so not Chou. That only left one person, Tigress. Jade knew Tigress well, but they hadn't spoken in months.

Jade pulled up her hood and jumped from her branch, landing in the snow right in front of the group. She lowered her head, she didn't want anyone to see what the collar had done to her, but she could still see everyone in front of her.

Tigress was there, so were the rest of the furious five. Po and Tigress' master, Shifu, as well. She recognised them from times she'd watched the palace. She watched Xue as well always from a distance.

She could see the shock of everyone in front of her, it wasn't surprising. Her clothes were ripped and disheveled, worn from spending a life in forests. Jade was 11 years old, but to those who'd never seen her she looked only seven or eight. To see someone like that in a forest so close to Fang's empire wouldn't be expected.

"You shouldn't be here." Jade spoke  
"Who are you?" Shifu demanded  
"You shouldn't be here." Jade repeated  
"What's your name?" Viper asked kindly  
"Jade." She answered, since they weren't listening  
"Why are you here? The Imperial City's been invaded." Po said  
"Did something happen to your parents?" Viper asked  
"I'm only here because I have to be." Jade tugged at her cloak, revealing the metal collar "But you should leave."  
"We have to stop Fang." Tigress spoke for the first time  
"Its not safe for you here." Viper added  
"I can't leave, you can. Fang is being dealt with, just turn around and leave."  
"We have a duty to help." Shifu said, kinder this time  
"Go ahead, you'll only get hurt." Jade said, leaping back up into the trees.

She silently leapt from branch to branch, leaving the warriors far behind. She could hear someone, Viper maybe, calling her name, but she didn't go back. If she couldn't stop them, there was no point. She would stick to her plan, anyone else could worry about themselves.

**Review? :)**


	4. Chapter 4 Sisters

**Hey guys! I've still got a poll going on my profile about what kind of story I should write next, so I'd apreciate it if you guys could vote. Anyway, I'll stop talking and get on with it.**

_**Imperial City outskirts...**_

The warriors of the Jade palace had scattered around the outskirts of the Imperial City. They each had the same task-observe the city. Finding out where the guards were, and how many were stationed was important, but there was another unspoken task. Find out who inside the city was already fighting back.

The Imperial City was bordered by high walls on all sides, as a defense against invasion. Normally during a time of war, archers would stand atop the wall and shoot at enemies from above. Now it only served to keep Fang's enemies out.

Po and Viper were watching from the top of the wall, Po running along in 'stealth mode.' Monkey and Tigress were moving through the city streets, Monkey jumping between houses. Mantis was using his size to his advantage, getting close to the palace. Crane watched everything from above, flying high above the city ready to warn the others if he spotted guards.

Tigress was running, but what was she looking for? She still had no plan, no idea of what she would do. She had to find Xue, but then what? Suddenly, Tigress saw movement from around the corner. She quickly backed up into a doorway, trying not to be seen. She'd gone too close to the palace, there were sure to be guards here.

But as a shadow began to form around the corner, Tigress realized it was just Monkey. Before she could move, a paw clamped over her mouth, pulling her back through the door. She began to struggle, before she looked down at the paw. It was white, with black stripes. Xue

As Tigress relaxed the paw was removed from her mouth. Tigress turned and came face to face with Xue. She took a step back, and looked at her surroundings. The house she was in only had one room, and no windows. There were two thin beds along one wall, and a table with a map of the palace in the opposite corner. Apart from that the room was empty.

"I thought you were a guard!" Tigress hissed  
"Be quiet!" Xue whispered "I didn't want to be noticed, I'm sorry."  
"Do you have a plan?" Tigress asked  
"Maybe, but it requires you and your friends." Xue grabbed a scroll from the table "Take this, give it to your master."  
"What is it?" Tigress asked  
"A forged scroll. It looks like something Fang sent out to her warriors, telling them what to look for. You can use it to find that thing and stop her."  
"Why can't you?"  
"Fang and I have one thing in common. We have no access to any kind of records, you do. Use this to your advantage." Xue said  
"Of course sister." Tigress was about to leave, but hesistated "Xue...I saw Jade in the forest nearby." Tigress chose her words carefully.  
"She's here? Good, she is an excellent fighter."  
"Xue, Fang got to her, from what I could tell the process has already started." Tigress left, unable to bear seeing the horror on her sister's face.

When Tigress reached Shifu, the others were already there.

"Where were you?" Shifu asked  
"I lost sight of you, we though you'd been captured." Crane said  
"I thought I heard a guard approaching, I hid inside a house." Tigress lied  
"As long as you're safe." Shifu said  
"Master, I found this scroll in the city. I think it will be useful." Tigress handed Shifu the scroll.

When Shifu had read the scroll, he handed it to the others to read.

_Warriors, go forth and seize every village, town and city with any form of temple or sacred place. Take prisoners if you must, but find out if any of these places has a legend attached that speaks of The Darkness. Search the temples, tear them apart if it will aid you. Find The Darkness and bring it to the Imperial City._

"What's The Darkness?" Po asked  
"I don't know." Shifu admitted  
"What can we do if we know nothing?" Monkey asked  
"The Darkness...it sounds familiar." Viper said, deep in thought  
"You've heard of it?" Shifu asked  
"I've heard it somewhere before. I think my father told me about it." Viper said  
"Are you sure?" Crane asked  
"Yes, he told me a legend about The Darkness, but I can't remember it."  
"So we still know nothing." Mantis said  
"Well, maybe not." Po said  
"What do you mean?" Crane said  
"If Viper's father told her about The Darkness, why don't we ask him?" Everyone stared at Po, surprised he had been the only one to think of this.  
"We will leave tomorrow. Tigress and Po, you will remain here and keep watch over the city." Shifu said  
"Yes Master." Everyone replied, bowing.  
"For now, I suggest we all get some sleep." Shifu said  
"Master, someone should stand guard." Tigress suggested  
"Yes. Tigress, you and Po will both guard in shifts. You are the only two not travelling."

After that everyone got ready to sleep. They set up camp on top of a hill overlooking the city. The trees around them were thick, but it was still easy to gain a clear view of the city. Being this close to the city, they couldn't light a fire, and it was a very cold night.

"Po, I'll guard first and wake you ok?" Tigress asked  
"Yeah sure." Po agreed.

Tigress sat with her back to a tree, looking out over the Imperial City. Even from that far, Tigress could see the palace. Every window was ablaze with light, guards moving through the palace and its grounds. Somewhere in there, Fang and Tao were planning to take over China, all because of something that happened so long ago.

"Tigress." A voice came from somewhere above her, high in a tree.  
"Jade." Tigress replied  
"Why don't you leave?" Jade said, leaping silently from a tree and landing in front of Tigress  
"Fang needs to be stopped, and Xue can't do it alone."  
"I should help her. You have more to live for than me, why do you insist on risking it?" Jade asked  
"You can't do anything with that collar on." Tigress said  
"When the process has finished I will use my power against Fang."  
"You're not strong enough to resist her mind Jade."  
"I have to try!" Jade insisted  
"How bad is it?" Tigress asked.

Jade shde her cloak, letting it fall to the ground. The silver collar gleamed in the moonlight, contrasting to Jade's fur. Jade was white on her right side, while the fur on her left was orange. At least, it should be.

The collar had already begun to transform Jade. Veins of black had spread outwards from the collar, reaching all over her body. Her eyes had darkened, and her entire body shook from exhaustion.

"I have to leave." Jade said, picking up her cloak  
"Xue can help you." Tigress said  
"Not without killing herself." Jade replied, fastening the cloak "Goodbye."

Before Tigress could reply Jade was gone, leaping through the trees. Tigress sighed, settling back against the tree. Jade was definitely her sister, nobody else could be that stubborn. Jade was right though, she couldn't be saved without Xue sacrificing herself. Fang would never remove the collar herself, and so by the end of this war, Tigress was going to lose a sister.

"Tigress?" Po's voice sounded behind her. She prayed to the gods he hadn't seen Jade  
"Po, you don't need to guard yet." Tigress said  
"I, uh, couldn't sleep. I thought you might want to rest." Po explained.  
"Alright, wake me if you get tired." Tigress said.

As she lay awake, unable to sleep, one though went through her brain. Xue or Jade? Both were her sisters, both had suffered, but only one would survive this war.

**Review? It would make my day ;)**


	5. Chapter 5 Secrets and confrontations

**Hey y'all, so sorry for the long wait! I've been sick lately and its been kind of hard to write. Hope you enjoy! I promise there'll be action soon, kay? There'll also be a bit of romance soon, but I won't say between who! Mwah ha ha ha! Actually, that's mostly because its pretty obvious.**

_**Imperial City outskirts...**_

"Po! Wake up!" Shifu said, hitting Po with his staff  
"Ah! Bandits I-" Po stopped when he saw everyone was staring at him  
"You were supposed to be on guard!" Shifu snapped  
"I, uh..." Po trailed off  
"You were lucky no one attacked while you were sleeping." Shifu said, beginning to calm  
"Master, we should leave." Viper said  
"Yes. Po, Tigress, while we are gone observe only." Shifu instructed  
"Yes master." Po and Tigress replied.

Shifu and the five-minus Tigress- left. The journey to Viper's village and back would take two days, and they couldn't afford to waste time. Tigress suggested that they spar, since they hadn't trained for days. Po reluctantly agreed, seeing as it was the only way to pass the time.

"Ok, I give up!" Po said after being knocked to the ground yet again.  
"You lasted longer that time." Tigress commented, helping him up.  
"So can we stop sparring now?" Po pleaded "I'm really hungry!"  
"Alright Po." Tigress said.

By then it was already beginning to get dark. Po made dinner while Tigress left. She told Po she wanted to take make sure nothing new was happening in the Imperial City, but her real reason was different.

What Tigress was really doing was going to see Xue. It took a while to get there, Tigress had to sneak around every corner and check every shadow. It seemed like more guards were patrolling the city copmared to when they'd first arrived here. Tigress was almost captured countless times before she made it to the house.

"Tigress!" Xue said, shocked "I thought you were a guard."  
"There are a lot in the city." Tigress agreed  
"That might be my fault." Xue admitted  
"What happened?" Tigress asked.

Instead of replying, Xue pointed a shaking finger to the corner of the room. As soon as she saw it Tigress couldn't believe she'd missed it to begin with. Jade was sitting back against the wall, hunched over and shaking uncontrollably. The collar was gone but more of her fur had turned black. Tigress got a glance at her eyes. They were jet black.

"I found her, and took off the collar." Xue explained  
"But you can't heal her, can you?" Tigress finished  
"It would kill me. Theres somewhere I could take her, but its three days away."  
"And you can't be gone for six days while Fang is still here."  
"Did you give the scroll to Shifu?" Xue asked  
"Yes. I stayed here with Po but the others left to find out about The Darkness."  
"Thankyou. You should get back to Po, he'll start to wonder where you."  
"Goodbye sister." Tigress said  
"Goodbye." Xue replied.

When Tigress got back Po had just started eating dinner. She grabbbed a bowl began eating as well.

"Did you see anything?" Po asked  
"There were a lot more guards than before." Tigress admitted  
"Maybe we shouldn't go down there until the others are back." Po suggested  
"That's probably best." Tigress agreed, grateful that Po wouldn't be going to the city.

_**Near Viper's village...**_

They'd arrived earlier in the day, only to find the village already conquered by Fang. It was a horrible sight. Buildings were burning, guards pulling people from their homes into the streets. The village had only just been taken over.

It had been torture for Viper to wait until it was dark. She couldn't bear to look at the villagers being tortured for information. Some of them she'd known in her childhood, some of them were even her family.

As soon as the sun had sunk below the horizon, the warriors had been ready for action. They'd had to move silently through the village, they couldn't even help the villagers. There were far too many for them to defeat, not without Po and Tigress.

They were going to Viper's old house, where her parents still lived. It sat on a hill a short distance from the village, and Viper was hoping it had been left untouched. When they arrived Viper's vanished.

The door had been smashed, and inside furniture had been smashed and thrown around. It looked as though someone had been looking for something, and had grown mad when they hadn't found it. Further inside they discovered a horrifying sight.

Viper had walked into the kitchen, and discovered an equally destroyed room. Furniture had been thrown or broken and there was evidence of a fight, but there was something more horrifying. On the floor there was blood. Lots of it.

"Viper, are you in here?" Monkey asked, walking behind her into the kitchen "Viper, what're you-oh" He stopped when he noticed the blood. Soon everyone was in the kitchen, but noone would say anything. They were all thinking the same thing; Who's blood was it?

Viper was staring at it, transfixed. It was as though she couldn't quite comprehend it. While she was staring at it, Monkey looked at the rest of the kitchen, and he noticed something.

"Guys, there's a trail." Monkey pointed out  
"Where does it lead?" Mantis asked, hopping onto the primate's shoulder  
"We'll follow it." Shifu said

Everyone started to leave, but Viper hadn't moved. Crane noticed, and gently laid his wing on her shoulder. She flinched at the unexpected touch, and looked up blinking.

"Come on, we're going to find out what happened."

Viper and Crane rejoined the others, and thankfully no one had noticed they were gone. They followed the blood trail until they reached a set of stone steps. There was no light at the bottom, and everyone knew it could be a trap. But they couldn't just walk away, and so the proceeded down the steps. Viper mumbled something about it being a basement.

Once at the bottom it was hard to see, but nobody sprang from the shadowded corners, so they took that as a good sign. The blood trail led directly to a wall, and then stopped. There was no sign of a body, or that anyone had walked away. While the others were puzzled, Viper walked up to the wall and pressed a brick with her tail.

A section of the wall swung open like a door, and light spilled from a tunnel that sloped downwards.

"What is this?" Asked Monkey  
"Its a secret tunnel, there's a whole network of them under the village."  
"Why?" Asked Crane  
"When my father was defeated for the first time everyone wanted an escape plan in case the village got taken over." Viper explained  
"Why didn't you mention this before?" Mantis asked  
"Last time I was here the tunnels weren't finished. Because there were so many villagers captured, I didn't think they were complete yet."  
"Viper, where does this tunnel lead?" Shifu asked  
"I don't know." Viper answered truthfully "I never asked."  
"Our only option is to follow this tunnel." Shifu said.

_**Imperial City Outskirts...**_

Tigress was leaning against a tree, standing guard. Po had already taken the first shift, and surprised Tigress by staying awake. He'd woken her up almost two hours ago, and she'd been standing watch since.

Tigress was still wearing her white cloak, but despite its warmth she still shuddered from the cold. She thought briefly of the warmth a fire would offer, but she had to banish the thought. The smoke could give away their position.

As Tigress was thinking, she felt a crawling sensation on her neck. She put her hand up to her fur, but felt nothing. She put it down to the wind, and went back to her thoughts. But a few seconds later, there it was again. She barely managed to yell "Po!" before she could feel a tight force closing around her neck, pushing her back into the tree.

Po woke when he heard his name, but no sooner than he'd sat up he felt something tighten around his throat. He instinctively reached up to his throat, but he found nothing. Already his thoughts were beggining to meld together, all he could think about was his need for air.

Tigress was in a similar state, held back against the tree by a strong, invisible force. The rough bark was digging into her back, and her vision had begun to blur. A wolf stepped out from behind her, and Tigress instantly recognised her as Fang. Not by her appearance, Tigress couldn't focus her vision, but because she could feel the wolf inside her mind.

As soon as Tigress registered that thought, the feeling was gone. Suddenly, she could breathe again. She fell to the ground, gasping in a couple of breaths. She forced herself to stand, to find out what was going on. She saw Po doing the same out of the corner of her eye, and was instantly relived that he was okay.

The scene in front of them was ablaze, literally. Fang was fighting someone. For a moment Tigress' brain refused to accept who it was, but then it clicked. Xue was standing there, fighting Fang. Between them was a stream of fire and ice, colliding in the air between them. Fire streamed from Fang's paws effortlessley, and ice was flowing from Xue. Xue looked as though she was trying hard not to lose ground in the battle.

A million thoughts went through Tigress' mind, but there were only two she bothered to think about. What was going to happen to Xue, and how was she going to explain this to Po?

"Come to rescue your little sister Xue?" Fang snarled  
"Your quarell is with me. You had no reason to attack her." Xue said calmy, although her voice was strained  
"You share the same blood, that's reason enough." Fang said  
"She has nothing to do with this." Xue said, her voice hoarse  
"You're all the same!" Fang spat.

As Fang finished the fire surged forward, swallowing Xue. Tigress had to stop herself from running to her sister, she knew it wasn't a good idea to get into this battle.

"Consider yourself lucky Tigress. Tonight, I'm going to spare you." Fang said, dissapearing into the shadows of the night.

**You guys like it? Hate it? Whatever your feelings, please review ok? I'd appreciate any feedback at all guys!**


	6. Chapter 6 Tunnels and tragedy

**Ok guys, thanks to all who read, and a special thanks to those who reviewed! Also, I've got a poll on my profile about my next fic, so if anyone would take the time to vote it would be much appreaciated :)**

_**Inside a secret passage...**_

The four warriors and Shifu had been travelling through the tunnel for at least an hour and there was no sign of it ending soon. The tunnel had branched off at several locations, but they always knew which path to take. All they had to do was follow the blood.

The tunnel was perfectly round, with lanterns hung at regular intervals. The lanterns were hung just close enough to fill the tunnel with a dim, gloomy light. The tunnel had sloped down for a short while, but had gradually become flat.

Nobody had spoken in the time they'd been in the tunnel. Everyone was thinking the same thing, but nobody wanted to ask the question-Who's blood was it? Viper was still in shock, slithering along without thinking, her eyes locked on the ground in front of her.

After another few minutes of walking, the ground in front of them began to get steeper. It was barely noticable at first, but soon they could see the tunnel's end. As they reached the end of the tunnel they realised they weren't outside.

The tunnel had opened up into a massive cave with a high ceiling. There were wooden beams supporting the roof of the cave. Inside was a small village very similar to Viper's, right down to its slithering occupants.

The snakes nearby stopped as they saw the warriors emerging from the passage. Murmuring and whispering could be heard until a female snake pushed through the crowd.

"Viper?"  
"Mother!" Viper said, slithering over to her mother. She embraced her mother, but the older snake barely reacted. Viper sensed something was wrong and asked  
"Mother what happened?"  
"Its your father." Viper's mother said gravely.

_**Imperial City Outskirts...**_

"Xue?" Tigress said, kneeling beside her sister in an instant.  
"Tigress?" Po said "What just happened?"  
"Tigress?" Xue said, her eyes opening slightly  
"Xue, how bad are your injuries?" Tigress asked, knowing that 'are you ok?' would be a pointless question.  
"Tirgess, who is that?" Po asked, again receiving no answer  
"My injuries will heal, given time. But we cannot stay here."  
"Can you walk?" Tigress asked Xue  
"Slowly, with help." Xue replied. As Tigress began to help her sister, Po was getting frustrated  
"What is going on?" He nearly yelled, grabbing the tigers' attention.  
"Po, I'll explain but we have to get out of here." Tigress said  
"Alright." Po agreed, knowing Tigress was right. "Where are we going?" He asked  
"We need to go into the city." Xue said  
"Po, can you help Xue walk? I need to scout ahead for guards." Tigress asked  
"Uh, sure." Po said, helping the white tiger to stand.

Tigress ran silently towards the city, leaving Po to help Xue. She slowly managed to stand, putting one arm around Po's shoulder to hold herself up. Po tentatively put one arm around her waist to support her, very aware of their proximity. The two began walking at a slow pace as Xue was limping badly, and most of her weight was on Po.

"You really trust her don't you." Xue said after a while. Not a question, like she already knew the answer.  
"Who?" Po asked, only having been half listening  
"Tigress. You trust her."  
"What do you mean?" Po asked, confused  
"You agreed to stay with a complete stranger while she left. You could have been the one to scout ahead but you chose to accept Tigress' instructions and stayed back." Xue explained

Po opened his mouth to say something, but what Xue had said was true. The more Po thought about it, the more it made sense.

"Yeah but, Tigress is in charge." Po protested weakly.  
"As the Dragon Warrior, you are technically in charge." Xue said  
"Who are you?" Po asked, suddenly curious  
"I am Tigress' sister."  
"Tigress...has a sister?"  
"She has two." Xue replied  
"She's never talked about sisters before." Po said  
"Tigress has her reasons." Xue said. No sooner had she finished talking, Xue almost collapsed.  
"Are you alright?" Po asked, unsure of what to do  
"I will be, but I need to rest."  
"Uh, ok. I guess we can wait for Tigress here."

The two looked around, and realized they had stopped in a wide street that looked like a marketplace. There were stalls lining the side of the road, some of them in front of houses and some built into the house itself. Po helped Xue over to a stall that sat out front of a house where she sat down on a pile of crates.

They waited in silence for Tigress to return, Po lost in thought and Xue distracting herself from the pain of her wounds healing themselves. Tigress appeared on a rooftop opposite them, flipping silently to the ground.

"There are no guards ahead, but there's a patrol nearby. We need to be quiet."  
"I believe I can walk now." Xue said, standing up  
"Quiet, got it. Activate stealth mode." Po said

Xue and Tigress watched as Po tried to hide himself behind the crates Xue had been sitting on. His attempts at stealth got more and more ridiculous as he moved down the street. Xue watched in confusion while Tigress couldn't help smiling slightly at Po's stealth mode.

"Huh." Xue said, looking at her Tigress.  
"What?" Tigress questioned  
"It doesn't matter. What does matter is how you're going to keep the Dragon Warrior quiet about this." Xue replied criptically.

Tigress knew better than to pry for information with Xue, and instead walked up to where Po was 'hiding'. Currently Po's stealth attempt consisted of him holding a plant pot in front of him, the leafy plant inside partially obscuring his face.

"Po." Tigress said  
"Ah!" Po said, dropping the pot.

Tigress and Po watched helplessly as it hit the ground, loudly shattering into pieces. From a few streets away they heard guards yelling. Po and Tigress ran back towards Xue, hiding inside one of the market stalls. They all sat against the wall as they heard the guards running by. The footsteps stopped as the guards found the pot, and the three warriors could hear them speaking.

"What did you find?" A voice demanded.  
"Just a broken pot. Probably fell from that window up there."

The guards left the area, but no one moved until a few minutes later. They all knew that if there hadn't been a window above the shattered pot, they'd have been caught. They weren't well hidden and the guards could have walked right into the stall.

"I think the patrol's gone." Tigress said, looking out into the street.  
"Sorry about that." Po said as they resumed walking.

Xue went ahead to check for more guards. Tigress tried to protest that she was injured, but she just walked off. Po and Tigress were left behind to travel slowly and quietly through the city.

"Po, what did Xue tell you while I was gone?" Tigress asked as they were walking.  
"She's your sister, and you have another sister."  
"Anything else?"  
"Not really." Po replied truthfully  
"Po, you can't tell the others about any of this."  
"What? Why not?"  
"Its complicated." Tigress said  
"Oh come on, you said you'd explain." Po said  
"Ok." Tigress said.

Xue heard the two talking behind her. She knew that for Tigress this was hard. She didn't have many secrets, and now her biggest one could be revealed. Xue knew what Po would do, but she wouldn't tell Tigress.

Xue could hear everything they were talking about, and couldn't help recall the memories.

**I hope y'all liked it! Maybe enough to review?**


	7. Chapter 7 Flashbacks and History

**I'm back faithful readers. As it turns out, writers block is a **_**cagna **_**(translate that if you can't figure it out) and it took me a while to finally get this out. After restarting it four times I finally got this. I changed the formatting of the speech to make it easier to read, in my opinion, so I'd love to hear what you think of it. Also, because of the way this chapter turned out, I'm thinking of changing the rating to 'M' because of some darker themes, but I'd like another opinion before I make my mind up. **

_**Caring A Leader-**_**Thanks for your review! Not much progression of the plot in this chapter it's all backstory, so you'll just have to wait and see what happens to all of the characters in the next chapters!**

**Anyway, I think I've taken up enough of your time with my ramblings, so I'll get onto the story**

**Jade Palace, many years ago**

Xue sat underneath the branches of the peach tree of Heavenly Wisdom. They were nearly bare this time of year, a light dusting of snow already covering the ground.

From the hilltop Xue could see the whole of the Valley of Peace. Every building, every street, every person moving about on the streets. She watched as the residents of the valley ran about on the streets in the cool afternoon air, from people haggling at market stalls to children playing.

Xue observed the scene with curiosity, and just a tiny bit of envy. At thirteen years old, she had not left the palace since coming to live there at five, not even to pay a visit to the town below.

It was a mixture of responsibility beyond her years and fear that kept her in the Jade Palace. Her mind flashed back to her last days with her parents, before her life of training began.

_Fire. Smoke. The smell of singed fur and her home burning. Somewhere her mother screamed, while her father was nowhere to be found. Was that his laugher she heard? It didn't matter. All Xue could do was move, force herself to crawl just a few more inches while fighting the darkness pressing at the edge of her vision._

Xue shuddered at the memories, willing herself to ignore such painful images as she continued to watch the movements of those below her.

The sun had begun to dip behind the far mountains, and villagers hurried to get home before dark. Mothers pulled their children away to the sanctuary of their homes while shop owners rushed to close up their shops. Even in such a safe place, people were always afraid of what _might _happen.

Footsteps behind her made Xue snap out of her thoughts, whipping her head around and jumping to her feet as she did so. Realising who it was Xue relaxed slightly, giving a small bow.

"Tai-lung." She said, looking to the ground

"Why do you bow to me?" The older snow leapord asked

"Your skill in kung fu exceeds mine." Xue said, daring to move her gaze upwards

"But you train under my master's master. If anything I should bow to you." Tai-lung said, leaning confidently against the peach tree

"I've barely mastered the basics of kung fu, you're practically a master. There's no way you should be bowing to me." Xue said, her tail swishing with anger as her narrowed eyes held Tai-lung's gaze

"Alright. No more bowing then." Tai-lung said, pushing off from the tree "Goodnight Xue." He said before running back to the bunkhouse

Xue sighed, settling once again under the peach tree. It was one of the first conversations she'd had with the snow leapord, and it was certainly the first time she'd lost her temper in his prescence. It was surprising, considering her temper was the reason she'd been forced from her home.

_"I want nothing to do with him!" Xue yelled, backing away from her father_

_"You will do as I say!" He bellowed "You are betrothed young lady, I suggest you start being grateful for what has been given to you."_

_"He's an ungrateful pig." Xue said, and she meant it literally_

_The fat swine her father had forced her into someday marrying was greedy, and treated her horribly. Like she was just a possesion. Even only four years old Xue knew that was wrong._

_"You are a monstrous little bitch." Her father said, striking her with a clawed hand_

Xue absentmindedly ran a paw over her cheek, feeling the scarred skin hidden by white and black fur. The streets below were all but deserted now, darkness covering the village.

Xue stood, pacing back to the bunkhouse. Her attempts at kung fu had once again gone terribly, her skill clearly lying elsewhere. Tomorrow would be better, it had to be. Tomorrow there would be no practicing of stances or moves, and definitely no sparring. The only obstacle between now and then would be her dreams.

* * *

_Xue crawled from the blaze that had once been her home, smoke following her from the open door she'd come through. She collapsed on the snow as soon as she was clear of the flames, coughs wracking her small frame sending pain throughout her searing throat._

_"I'd hoped it wouldn't come to this." A deep voice said_

_"Father?" Xue croaked, the action burning through her throat_

_"You couldn't just die in the fire. No, you had to escape." He said, stepping towards Xue_

_"Please." Xue whimpered, looking up to the large tiger before her_

_"You had to be born a girl, and a weak, sickly girl at that. You've been nothing but trouble." Xue's father said_

_As Xue tried desperately to force herself up, her father took one last step towards her and kicked her square in the chest. Xue couldn't even scream at the pain of her weak bones breaking as her father continued assulting her, kicking at her as she curled weakly into a ball. Her coughs continued, now staining the snow around her crimson._

_"Stop!" Another voice cried out, and Xue forced herself to stop coughing and listen_

_"She deserves this." Xue's father growled, momentarily ceasing his attack on her_

_"She's dead." The voice said, and Xue recognized it as her mother's "You can stop."_

_"Ling, take her away. Get rid of the body." Her father said, turning to the blaze that was their home_

Xue woke with a gasp, throwing of her covers and racing outside. It was dawn, though just before the morning gong would ring. Xue stood in the cool air, taking deep breaths and reminding herself she was no longer in the burning house. Her father was no longer a threat to her.

She hurried to the bathhouse, washing herself quickly before returning to her room to pack a bag before she decided she was ready for the day.

Xue stood outside the bunkhouse, waiting impatiently for her master. He may have been a turtle, but she wished he could at least move a little faster.

Finally seeing him approach Xue shifted her pack, eager to get going. The sooner they left the more time Xue would spend training with her master.

"Are you ready Xue?" Oogway asked when he reached her

"Yes master." Xue replied, nodding rapidly

Xue followed her master as they walked away from the Jade Palace, journeying up into the Wu Dan Mountains. After travelling for the better part of the morning, the two reached the Pool of Sacred Tears, the place Xue did most of her training.

"Xue." Oogway said, placing down his small pack "You have been making excellent progress with you training."

"Thankyou master." Xue said, bowing

"There is no need to be so formal young one. Today there is something new you will learn." Oogway said, reaching for his staff

"Of course master." Xue said, barely containing her excitement

"You have learnt to use your power as a force, to move and change things." Oogway said to his student

"Yes master." Xue said, listening intently

"Today you will learn to use that power to heal, as a positive energy." Oogway explained

"Really?" Xue said, wide-eyed

"Yes Xue. But first, you must prepare for the lesson. I will get things ready." Oogway said, opening his pack

Xue sat beside the pool, crossing her legs in a meditative position. She forced all thoughts from her mind. Then, once no thoughts occupied her mind, Xue relived the memory of how she recieved her power.

_Ling, Xue's mother, carried her body from the ruins of their house into the nearby mountains. Xue forced herself to be still, lacking the energy to even open her eyes to check if her father was still there. _

_She felt herself being placed down gently onto the snow, though even that caused pain to shoot through her body, and she couldn't help but cry out._

_"Oh Xue, dear why did this happen?" Her mother said, tears falling from her eyes_

_"Mother?" Xue said weakly, opening her eyes_

_"I had to take you away from him. I couldn't bear to see it any longer." Ling cried_

_Xue's small body was all but destroyed. Most of her brilliant orange fur was singed black, and where fur still remained it was stained red with blood. Her ribs were broken, she could feel one had punctured her lung and another protruded from her chest. Blood trailed from her mouth from when she had coughed, and her throat was burned so badly she could barely feel it._

_"Xue?" Her mother asked fearfully_

_"Am I going to die?" Xue asked weakly_

_"Oh sweetie don't say things like that." Ling said, trying her best to comfort her daughter_

_There was no point. Only moments later Xue's gasping breaths halted, her eyes rolling back into her skull. Her mother called her name, shaking her small body as hard as she dared but it was no use. Xue was dead_

_"Xue? XUE? NO! Why? Why did you do this?" Ling screamed, looking to the gods above "WHY DIDN'T YOU SAVE HER?" She cried, breaking down into sobs "She didn't deserve this." Ling said, barely a whisper, as she cradled her daughter's body_

_As Ling held her daughter, the snow around them began to glow. It lifted slowly, the blood stained snow rising pure white. Ling backed away in fear, leaving her daughter's body. It too rose, the snow flowing inside her wounds, slowly healing her body. _

_As her singed fur was returned to its former state, it faded from orange to a dazzling white. Her misplaced bones cracked back into place, the blood was scrubbed from her body and she was returned to the snow. And when she opened her eyes, the had changed from glowing orange to a brilliant blue._

_"Mother?" She said, her voice no longer a hoarse whisper_

_"Xue?" Ling said, staring in disbelief_

_"I'm alive." Xue said_

_"Oh my Gods Xue you are!" Ling said, embracing her daughter_

_"But I can't go back home." Xue said_

_"We'll think of something." Ling said, stroking Xue's now white fur_

_"Perhaps I can help." Another voice said from behind them_

_For a moment the two grew scared, thinking it was Xue's father, but when they turned they didn't see a tiger. Standing in the snow only feet from them was an old turtle, leaning on a wooden staff._

_"Who are you?" Ling asked, pushing her daughter behind her_

_"My name is Oogway. I can take your daughter to a place where she will be safe. She has just gained an incredible power, she must learn to control it." Oogway said_

_"How did you know to be here?" Ling asked suspiciously_

_"The universe told me. She needs protecting. I can take her to the Jade Palace." Oogway said_

_"Xue." Ling said, kneeling before her daughter "You go with him and you stay away from here. You must never go anywhere you are not safe." Ling said, embracing her daughter_

_"Yes mother. Goodbye." Xue said, going to Oogway_

_"Goodbye." Ling whispered, watching her daughter leave._

Xue pulled her mind back to the present, looking over to her master.

Oogway pulled two small plants from his pack, both withered and dying. Xue spent the rest of the day listening to her master, learning to manipulate the energy within her body as a regenerative force, bringing her plant back to life.

"You've done very well Xue." Oogway said when they'd completed training for the day

"Thankyou master." Xue said, pulling her pack on

"Come, it's time we returned to the palace." Oogway said, already moving down the mountain path

Xue moved to follow him, but as the walked she couldn't shake the feeling that somebody was watching her. She turned back to the clearing where she'd trained, but like every time she'd looked that day Xue saw nobody.

* * *

When Oogway and Xue reached the palace, the first thing they saw was Shifu, hurrying towards them.

"Master, have you seen Tai-lung?" Shifu asked Oogway, ignoring Xue

"I'm afraid I have not." Oogway said

"He's been missing all day." Shifu said, cleary worried about his young student

"Master?" A voice said from behind them

"Tai-lung?" Shifu said as the snow leapord jumped out from behind Oogway and Xue

"Hello master." Tai-lung said, bowing

"Where have you been?" Shifu said, managing to keep the relief out of his voice

"I was meditating and lost track of time. I'm sorry master." Tai-lung said

"Well make sure it doesn't happen again." Shifu said "And you'll be training extra tomorrow."

"Yes master." Tai-lung said

Once Oogway and Shifu had left, Xue turned to Tai-lung, glaring at him.

"You weren't really meditating. You followed us." Xue said

"I wanted to know what all the fuss about you was." Tai-lung said

"And you couldn't just ask?" Xue said, her anger growing

"More fun this way." Tai-lung said "Besides, I've got an idea."

"What kind of idea?" Xue asked, unable to keep her tail from twitching

"You teach me to do whatever it was you were doing out there, and I teach you kung fu." Tai-lung proposed

"I don't even know if you can learn that." Xue said truthfully

"It's worth a shot." Tai-lung said, smiling

**Woah, that turned out longer than I expected. Was it good? Like I said, I changed the formatting of the speech. Did that make it easier to read?**


	8. Chapter 8 Anger and Vengance

**Another day, another chapter. I feel like I'm finally making progress on this story! A little bit more plot in this chapter, and Fang finally makes and appearance!**

_**~Imperial City Streets~**_

"So why isn't Xue in the Jade Palace now?" Po asked, attempting to keep quiet as he and Tigress snuck through the sleeping city

"About a year after she and Tai-lung started training together, Xue overheard Shifu complaining that she was distracting Tai-lung from his training. She felt so guilty that she left the palace that night." Tigress explained, sparing a glance back at her sister

"Oh. Where are we going?" The panda asked, looking around as Xue caught up to them

"It's not far from here. Just a few more streets up." Xue said, walking beside Tigress

The three walked in silence, not wanting to risk another close encounter with the wolf guards. True to Xue's word they soon reached a small abandoned house, likely emptied in the days following the capture of the Imperial City.

The door had obviously been kicked open, but was somehow still in place despite the damage. Upon opening the trio entered the small house, finding themselves in a room that took up most of the internal space.

"Xue." A deep voice said from across the room

"Tai." Xue said as the snow leopard stepped from the shadows

"Tai-lung?" Po said in confusion

"Tigress." Tai-lung said, turning to her before finally looking to Po

"You're alive?" Po asked in confusion

"Is that really the only thing you're struggling to believe tonight?" Tai-lung asked, amused

"But how?" Po asked

"Po." Tigress said, grabbing Po's attention as Xue explained the situation to her husband

"What's going on?" Po demanded

"When you performed the Wuxi finger hold on Tai-lung, Xue swapped places with him at the last second. Her powers allowed her to survive." Tigress explained

"So he's been alive this whole time?" Po asked

"Yes." Tigress replied

"And you knew?"

"Yes. If I could've told anyone, I would've told you Po, but I couldn't." Tigress said

"Why not?" Po demanded, growing angry

"Because they would've been hunted down and killed." Tigress snapped, before taking a breath and calming herself "They didn't deserve that."

"What about everything Tai-lung did?" Po asked, still annoyed

"Might I interrupt?" Xue asked

"What?" Tigress said

"Look." Xue nodded towards a corner of the room

Sitting huddled in the corner was another tiger, one Tigress recognized instantly. If it hadn't been for the unique colouring of her fur, Tigress wouldn't have recognized Jade, even though she was her sister.

"I thought you removed the collar." Tigress said, unable to tear her gaze away

"We came back from scouting out the palace, and it was there again. I can't remove it." Xue said

The line separating Jade's body, two warring colours of fur meeting in the centre of her body to usually form perfect halves was darkened. Black lines ran through Jade's body as white and orange fur alike turned black. The veins had thickened to roots of darkness spread across her body, all growing from the metal collar locked around Jade's neck.

The collar wasn't Jade's only problem. A blood soaked bandage was wrapped around her head, covering the orange side of her skull. The crimson seemed to seep from her ear, or at least where it used to be.

"What happened to her?" Tigress asked, motioning to the bandage

"Fang summoned her, and she tried to fight. She lost an ear for her troubles." Xue explained, looking towards her unconscious sister

"What's wrong with her?" Po asked, staring at the collar fastened around Jade's neck

"That collar channels all of the negative energy Fang produces when she uses her powers." Xue explained

"So it goes into her, and then what?" Po asked

"Then the darkness takes over her mind, and she is forced to do Xue's will until her body is destroyed by the energy and crumbles to dust." Xue said bitterly

"She's dying?" Po asked, eyes wide

"Until we defeat Fang." Tigress said

"It's growing late. We should rest, you can return to your camp tomorrow." Xue said to Tigress and Po

The four conscious animals in the house settled down on the bed mats left on the floor, Xue resting beside her husband. Tigress took the bed next to theirs and Po lay beside the window. Po knew he should have been worried about sharing a room with Tai-lung, but Tigress and Xue seemed to trust him, and the information they'd received had told them Tai-lung was fighting against Fang and her army. There were other thoughts occupying Po's minds anyway.

The mats were just another reminder of the former occupants of the house. As the others slept Po lay awake, looking around the room and seeing all the little things that had just been left. A pot of water boiled to steam, food left on the counter gone bad waiting to be prepared, the bed he slept on. Did the family living there leave, or were they forced from their home?

_**~Inside an underground cave~**_

"Mother? What's going on?" Viper asked as the warriors followed the older snake

As they walked through the cave, they realised it was more than just a hollowed out cavern. Inside was an entire city, a replica of the town above. There were houses and market stalls, everything needed for a city of people to live there.

Lights hung from the high ceiling and in small hollows in the walls. There were air vents leading to the surface, allowing fresh air to circulate the underground city.

As the five warriors walked through the streets everybody seemed to notice them. Snakes all around them stopped and stared as they followed Viper's mother through the streets.

"Mother, what happened to father?" Viper asked once again

"Please Viper, we're almost there." Viper's mother said, silencing her daughter

They soon reached a small building, and upon entering found it was an infirmary of sorts. There were injured sitting on seats in the lobby and some lying on the ground. Snakes rushed around, trying to treat all of the injured.

It seemed that they stood in only one of many rooms. Snakes rushed through doorway holding medical supplies, while some injured attempted to move from the front room. The warriors were ignored as everyone who was lucky enough not to be injured treated those who were.

"Wait here." Viper's mother said, slithering off to talk to one of the nurses

She came back after exchanging a few words, and led the five warriors deeper into the building. As the five walked to a higher level of the building, they saw more injured snakes. The injuries they saw got worse as they moved further through the building until finally, they reached a door at the end of a hallway.

"Viper, come inside with me." Viper's mother said, opening the door slightly

"Ok." Viper said, slithering after her mother and leaving her fellow warriors to wait

**~Imperial City Palace~**

Fang stood in her chambers-rooms that had once belonged to the emperor and his wife-looking out over the city. A malicious smile twisted her lips as she looked over the beginnings of her empire.

Night had long since fallen, and all lanterns in the city were out. Still burning fires provided the only light for patrols. Fang watched over the silent city, the only signs of life within its walls the occasional passing patrol, or the blurred movement indicating a panther moving throughout the city.

Fang was pleased with her capture of the Imperial City, but she knew there was more work to be done yet. But unease stirred within her, the feeling that something was happening beyond her control.

"Are you going to sleep?" A voice sounded from behind her

"Not tonight Tao. Something is going on down there." Fang replied simply

"So the tiger removed the collar. It just means she's stronger than you thought." Tao said, stepping beside Fang at the window

"She could never have done that on her own. Somebody's out there, somebody's fighting me." Fang said, sharp eyes scrutinizing every corner of the city

"They'll be defeated." Tao said, rolling his eyes

"Your confidence may well lead to your downfall Tao." Fang said, turning to the wolf beside her

"You are only growing stronger Fang, who is going to stand up to you?" Tao asked, leaning against the window frame

"You know _exactly _who would stand up to me. She's the reason I'm doing this." Fang said, narrowing her eyes

"Alright, the wolves arrive tomorrow. They'll find her." Tao said, confident as ever

"They'd better be as good as you say." Fang warned, retreating from the window

"They will be." Tao assured her, following Fang as she walked to her dresser

"I hope so. I'm still tired from dealing with the last patrol that failed me." Fang said, inspecting her reflection

"If that's all, I'll be in the war rooms. Our maps need to be updated." Tao said, heading for the door

Fang watched him leaving in the mirror, before returning her gaze to her own reflection. There was not a single sign of her power's negative effects on her features, her grey fur sleek and untainted, her eyes no darker than they had been the day before.

"Troublesome tiger." Fang murmured to herself, straightening up and returning to the window. The unease remained in the pit of her stomach, not quelled by Tao's words. Fang had come too far to fall, if her plans failed at this point Fang would lose everything.

Her powers would no doubt be stripped. She would lose the empire she had worked so hard to gain. The warriors that now pledged their allegiance to her would either flee or be incapacitated. She would have to desert Tao, the only lover she'd ever had and the only person in this world she found even slightly interesting. And she would lose any hope of vengance.

Fang wasn't stupid or naïve, she wasn't as blissfully ignorant as she had been all those years ago. She knew the world wasn't fair, that people didn't get what they deserved. She knew it was up to her to make sure her parents were avenged.

And Fang knew that Xue had to suffer for her past actions.

**O_O What's Fang going to do? Well, you're not going to find out next chapter, but you might just find out why she hates Xue so much. That's right, next up is Fang's backstory. How 'bout you speed things up by dropping a review below? Ciao my lovely readers**


	9. Chapter 9 Betrayal between Predators

**Ok, so I wrote the last half of this whilst exhausted because I hadn't updated the story in a few days and when I do that it usually means I won't be updating for months and I know I'm rambling but I haven't slept in two days and I have to get up at dawn in six hours so I'll just stop talking now.**

**M4dG4rl-**Thanks for your reviews! Did you guess who Xue's husband was? If you're up to this chapter, I suppose you already know, but was your guess right? Yes, Jade is Tigress' sister, although I have yet to give her a very big part in the story (soon, hopefully!) Also, perhaps the reason you didn't see this fic is because I stopped writing for about five months while I had technical difficulties/writers block. I hope you continue to enjoy!

**Guest-**Ok so I guess you didn't actually use a name to leave a review but because you took the time to read and review I thought I'd reply to your review anyway so thanks for the review, feedback like this makes my day. :)

_**~Town of Chengsì, many years ago~**_

Fang lay in her bed, savouring the early morning stillness. The silence that came hand-in-hand with sunrise stretched on as Fang did nothing but lay on her back and stare at the ceiling of her bedroom. She wondered how long it would last, but really asking would only lead to her thinking, which she couldn't be bothered doing until-

"SISSY!" A small child's voice screamed from the doorway

"What?" Fang growled, not bothering to turn her head

"Mum said you have to get up and take me to Lei's house."

"It's not even that far, walk yourself Yue." Fang snarled, pulling the covers over her head

"No way sissy you promised!" Yue said, leaping onto Fang's bed

Fang held the covers tight until her sister eventually got smart enough to throw them off from the bottom. The glare Fang gave her sister would have scared off the bravest of warriors, but Yue just continued skipping around the room until Fang gave up and heaved herself out of bed.

"Get out." Fang said, walking to her dresser

"No way you'll just go back to sleep." Yue said stubbornly

"Get out or I'm not taking you." Fang demanded

"You're being mean, I'm telling mum!" Yue declared, racing from the room

Fang watched her sister run down the stairs calling for their mother before closing the door, probably with more force than necessary. Knowing she had to hurry or Yue would throw a fit, Fang grabbed the first clothes she could find-grey pants and a dark blue vest-before staring at her reflection. Running a brush through her fur Fang decided that was as good as it was going to get and headed downstairs.

She walked into the kitchen where her mother stood baking, Yue running around her legs. She didn't notice Fang as she walked in, too engrossed in the job before her. Yue however did, and quickly came running over to her older sister.

"Come on sissy I wanna go!" Yue demanded, placing her hands on her hips

"Fang," Their mother began, turning her head over her shoulder as she continued preparing the food "be nice to your sister ok dear?"

"Why do I have to take her?" Fang complained, trying not to get dragged out by her sister

"I'm baking for the shop and your father's opening up soon." Her mother replied, looking back to her work

Fang collapsed down at the small table in the cramped kitchen, eating the small breakfast her mother had set out for her, chewing slowly as possible to annoy Yue. The kitchen was small, and the smell of food drifted through the air from the oven. Random objects cluttered up the benchtops, unwashed dishes and books containing her mother's recipes and all manner of things that didn't even belong in a kitchen.

Fang eventually finished the meal, standing and grabbing her sister's paw as she walked out.

"Fang!" her mother called just as Fang reached the doorway

"Yes?" Fang asked, turning back to her mother

"I may not be home when you return, I've been asked to go to the town hall."

"Alright mother, I'll see you soon." Fang said

"Why is my sister so evil?"

"You don't mean that Fang."

"I do actually Jia." Fang said, looking to her friend

Unlike Fang, Jia was a lion. The two were lying beside the lake running through their town, looking up at the clouds. The shadow casted by a large tree provided them with shade as they looked to the sky. The endless blue was darkened by a stream of grey, the signal of another village destroyed by fire.

"Do you think they'll ever stop?" Jia asked

"I hope so. Our villages are the only place we're safe." Fang replied, her eyes following the smoke to its source

"My mum told me how she was run out of her village when she was only nine years old." Jia said, shuddering at the thought

"Just for being a predator." Fang added, looking away from the smoke

"Mother, I'm home!" Fang called, entering the door

Two things struck her as odd as the door swung shut. The first was that she couldn't smell anything baking in the kitchen-that was usually a given at any time of day. The second thing was the lack of humming or singing sounding as her mother worked.

"Mother?" Fang called again, venturing further into the house

Upon entering the front sitting room, Fang was faced with three people-her mother and two unfamilar animals she'd never seen before. They were both her age-a white tigress and a wolf.

"Oh Fang, you're home." Her mother said before looking behind her and frowning "Where's Yue?"

"She's staying at Lei's tonight." Fang replied

"Well alright. Fang, this is Xue and Tao. They're both going to be staying with us for a while." Fang's mother explained

"Alright, hi." Fang said, greeting the new arrivals

It wasn't unusual for new animals in town to stay with residents, especially young animals such as the wolf and tigress standing before Fang. In a town of outcasts, it was important that people looked out for one another.

_**~6 Months Later~**_

"Xue, have you seen my green vest?" Fang asked, entering her and Xue's shared room

"I think...uh, you might have worn it a couple days ago." Xue said thoughtfully

"When we were out in town?"

"Yeah. I don't know what happened to it after that, sorry." Xue apologized

Fang sighed, resigning herself to rifle through her other clothes until she could find something to wear. The green vest was one of her favourites, but Fang knew she had better clothes.

It was a big day for Fang and Xue. The two were travelling to a nearby village to take part in a festival-and for both girls it was the first festival they had attended.

With a final goodbye to Fang's parents and Yue, the two set off for the village. It took them almost an hour to get there, but as soon as they arrived both girls knew it was worth it.

There were colourful decorations lining each and every street, people selling every kind of food imaginable, music playing throughout the town and everwhere, animals of every kind celebrating together.

"What do we do first?" Xue asked uncertainly

"Everything." Fang declared

"Everything?" Xue said

"Everything." Fang repeated

* * *

After a long, _long _day at the festival, Fang and Xue were exhausted. Still, they found the energy to walk back to Chengsì, leaning on each other and laughing at the days events. But only halfway into the journey, both girls knew something wasn't right.

The usually cool night air was warm and neither could see a star in the sky-which had been cloudless when they began their return trip.

"Y'know, we should hurry." Fang said

"Yeah, it's getting late after all. Your mother's sure to be getting worried." Xue agreed

Both knew they were just making excuses. Both knew it wasn't at all late, and that nobody would have minded if it was. But making excuses would always be easier than thinking about what might actually be happening.

The girls sped up, just a little at first until they broke into an all out sprint. Neither were prepared for the sight they were met with.

Smoke rose from the raging fire encompassing their town. Survivors staggered through the streets, trying to escape the devesation. Only a few had made it out, and Fang instantly realised none of her family were among them.

"Xue, we have to find them!"

Fang grabbed her friend's wrist, dragging her into the burning town. Xue couldn't even react as images and memories,surpressed for so long, flooded her mind. As soon as Fang let go of her arm Xue was lost, screaming into the fire as she backed up against a wall.

Xue could think of nothing but running from the fire yet her body refused to obey her, every muscle freezing her in place. Smoke filled her lungs, flames licked at her fue, but still Xue remained rooted in place as her mind was assulted with memories of pain.

Then someone was grabbing her paw, pulling her from the house. Xue had no idea who was leading her, her eyes stung painfully and her mind could only focus on the action of putting one foot in front of the other.

Xue knew she'd escaped from the town just in time when a tremendous roar defended her ears and, when she managed to open her eyes, they were instantly burned by fire. Somewhere between the memories of fire and the sharp reality of pain Xue knew what'd happened. The oil stored in the town had been reached by the fire, and Chengsì had been destroyed in the explosion.

* * *

Xue wasn't sure how long she'd been unconscious, only that at some point she'd stopped being awake, but now she was.

Her muscles protested as she pushed herself up, rolling from her stomach to her back until she was sitting. She was surrounded by destruction.

The town was all but gone, nothing but burning debris in the early morning. In front of her, closer to the village, Xue could see bodies. Burnt and horribly disfigured, melted into the ground, bodies of people she'd known and lived with.

Xue clamped a hand over her mouth, tears springing to her eyes as she saw what had happened. She looked for the first time down at herself, and saw that her own fur was black with ash, but her burns were mostly healed.

_Fang_

Xue scrambled to her feet, searching wildly for her friend. She saw her, sitting on a rock only a short distance from the village, and she wasn't alone. Yue was clutching to her, and Tao was sitting close by. It seemed they were the only others to escape from the fire.

"Fang!" Xue called rushing to her friend as fast as her abused body would allow

"Xue?" Fang asked, shock on her face

"Fang." Xue said, coming to a halt before the wolf

"You're alive?" Fang asked

"Yes. And so are you, thank gods." Xue said, panting from the exhertion of running

"How could you?" Fang said pushing Yue aside as she stood

"What?" Xue asked, confused

"I told you to find my parents! And Tao found you cowering downstairs!" Fang said, backing away in horror

"What? No, I swear I-" Xue began

"You killed my parents." Fang said, eyes wide with disbelief and hurt

"No! Fang, I didn't know!" Xue begged her friend to see reason

"I can't believe I trusted you." Fang said, staring at Xue

Xue didn't know how to react, Fang's eyes were murderous. The pain and hatred in them scared Xue into running, running fast. She turned from the three wolves and she didn't stop running until she realised there was nowhere else for her to go.

Collapsing beneath a tree that hung beside the road, Xue let tears flow from her eyes. Tears she'd been holding back her entire life came flooding out until Xue blacked out, exhausted.

**So, I really hope that turned out okay. I should mention I haven't slept in about two days and I have to get up at dawn tomorrow for an ANZAC day service. Anyway, if you enjoyed-or not-please review :) Ciao**


	10. Chapter 10 Imperial Sunrise

**Ciao amici! (Hello friends!) I'm back today with chapter ten of my story. I hope you guys enjoy, sorry for the long wait guys, but holidays are over and I'm back at school. Hopefully I'll be back soon with the next chapter, but until then read away!**

**MentalDoughnut-Thanks so much for your review! I'm really glad you like the way I did the backstory :P**

**~The Underground City~**

Viper followed her mother, leaving her friends behind to wait for her in the corridor. She knew before she even entered the room that her father's injuries would be bad. The blood she'd seen on the floor of her house, the damage caused by the fight, they could mean nothing else.

Viper had steeled herself for the worst, determined to face whatever horrors had been inflicted upon her father. But when she entered the room, what Viper saw wasn't as terrible as she'd imagined.

Her father's body was wrapped in blood soaked bandages, masking the true extent of his injuries. His eyes were shut, and Viper could barely see him breathing, but he was alive.

"Father?" Viper whispered, approaching her father

"Viper? Is that you?" Her father croaked, sliding his eyes open

"Yes father." Viper said, tears falling from her eyes to drop against the wooden floors "It's me."

"I thought you might come." He whispered, his voice hoarse

"You did?" Viper said, looking up in equal measures of shock and confusion

"After we found out about what those bandits were looking for." Her father said

"Did they find it father? Or anything about it?" Viper asked, knowing the worst would come if their goal had been achieved

"Do you think I got these injuries giving in to them?" He said, smiling

"Will you tell us about it?" Viper asked, slithering closer to the bed

"Yes Viper. I'll tell you about the darkness."

**~The Imperial City~**

It was early. Really early. As in, before-the-morning-gong-early. But Po was already awake. In fact, he'd barely slept at all.

He was still on high alert, just waiting for guards to burst through the door, and to be honest he didn't really know who he was supposed to trust right now.

_Tigress. You're supposed to trust Tigress._

The small voice at the back of his head said. Po knew he shouldn't listen to it. After all, Tigress had been the one keeping secrets and lying to everyone.

_She had no other choice._

Stupid voice of reason. All it did was make him even more confused.

And the house kind of creeped him out too.

All Po could do was try to stare out the window at the impending sunrise and try to ignore his surroundings, but there were just so many things in the house that Po couldn't help thinking about. After all, he didn't know why it was empty. It could've just been abandoned, but there were signs, just little things, that suggested otherwise.

The food on the table, gone rotten waiting to be prepared. The pot of water, long boiled down to nothing but steam. What troubled him most was the stuffed rabbit-a child's toy-abandoned by wall. Or thrown there. Or-

_Stop thinking about it. Sunrise, focus on that._

For once Po knew he had to listen to the voice, force the scenes unfolding in his mind away and focus on something that wasn't so vicious. But as he turned his eyes to the window he froze, hearing the sounds of somebody waking up behind him.

It was obviously Tigress, Po could hear how close the sounds were. It seemed like she was trying to be quiet, not aware that Po was awake. Which was odd, when he thought about it, because Po knew that he was terrible at fake sleeping. Actually, everybody knew that.

Po waited, and listened, as Tigress sat, then stretched, then stood almost silently and left the small house. He hesitated for a few moments, wondering what Tigress was doing and if he should follow, but curiosity got the better of him and Po found himself walking out into the streets.

He found Tigress just outside, leaning against the house with her arms crossed over her chest as she watched the sunrise. Po only realized as he stepped through the door how cold it was in the morning air, and wished pointlessly that they'd brought the cloaks Shifu had given them.

_Shifu. _That thought alone provided a source of fear for Po. Did he know about any of this? He obviously knew about Xue, but what about her connection to Tigress, or that they knew of each other. Surely if he knew, Tigress wouldn't have been so secretive about any of it.

Tigress noticed his presence a few moments later, turning her head to look at him before pushing off the wall so she was facing him. There were a few moments of slightly awkward silence where they both just looked at each other. After what seemed like minutes but was closer to seconds, Tigress opened her mouth to speak.

"I didn't realise you were awake." Tigress said "Did I wake you?" She added, after a moment's thought

"No, uh, I was already up." Po said, suddenly nervous

"Didn't sleep well?" Tigress asked, cocking an eyebrow and smiling slightly

"Yeah." Po said, fear dissipating. He realized it had been silly in the first place, he was still talking to the same Tigress

"I know it's a lot to take in." Tigress said, her face sympathetic

"Tigress, what happens now?" Po asked, causing Tigress' features to tense

"I…don't know Po." Tigress said truthfully, her eyes meeting his

"The others should know Tigress." Po said, which he immediately regretted

As soon as the words left Po's mouth, Tigress' eyes narrowed, her features locked in anger. She unfolded her arms, taking a step towards Po as she drew herself up to her full height.

"Do you think I don't realize that?" She hissed, still trying to be quiet to avoid drawing unwanted attention, both from the guards and others in the house "But not everyone is going to be as understanding as you Po. Do you think Shifu will be happy about this? About Tai-lung being alive? About Xue-the student he blames for Tai-lung's failure-returning?" Tigress hissed, her voice only a loud whisper but still so, so powerful.

"They'll understand!" Po insisted, taking a step back "Yeah, they might need more convincing but Tigress, your sister saved my life. That's enough for me to trust her, maybe it's enough for them too."

Tigress also stepped back, her anger fading as she listened to Po. Finally, blinking a few times as the last of her anger cleared, Tigress took a deep breath before meeting Po's gaze.

"And what if it isn't?" Tigress asked, her voice steady but still betraying some of the feelings hiding right below the surface

"It will be." Po said firmly "Besides, I'll have your back." He added, smiling sincerely

"You'd still support me? Even with everything you know now?" Tigress asked, shocked at Po's words

"You're my friend. And you're still the same Tigress you were before." Po replied

Tigress looked as though she was about to answer, but at that moment Xue stepped outside. She didn't so much as glance at Po or Tigress, her gaze instead fixed on the Imperial Palace.

Something about the way Xue was holding herself put Po on edge. Her steps outside were slow and deliberate, but rigid, as though she was bracing herself for a great impact. Tigress obviously noticed it too, because when Po looked over to her he saw that instead of looking at her sister, her eyes were darting around the street. Fast but methodical and precise, scanning the streets around them. She held herself almost as though there was an enemy charging at her-not quite in a fighting stance but not completely at ease either.

"What's going on?" Tigress asked, eyes still scanning for any possible threat

"Look up there." Xue said, still fixated on the palace

Po and Tigress both followed her instructions, looking up to the towering structure. Po squinted as he stared at the high palace walls, but he saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"I don't see anything." Po said

"Keep looking." Xue replied

"What are we looki-"

Po was cut off as something flashed across the palace. It was little more than a black blur, rushing across the palace walls for no more than a second. Before Po had a chance to question his sanity, Tigress stepped in.

"Was that what I think it was?"

"I'm afraid so." Xue replied, turning back to the house

"Wait, what's going on?" Po asked, lost

"That was a panther Po." Tigress explained

"Ok, so?" Po said, still obviously confused

"Po, panthers are known for their stealth abilities. If they're in the city, we're not safe." Tigress explained

"So we're leaving?"

"Yes." Tigress replied

"Without breakfast?" Po asked just as a loud growl emitted from his stomach

"Yes Po." Tigress said, struggling to hold back laughter at the panda's face "But we're only going to the city's borders. After that you can eat."

"Alright. At least there's no stairs."

**So, you like it? I'd appreciate a review if you did. Or if you didn't. Everything's welcome and I'll reply to all of my reviews at the beginning of my next chapter! And what a chapter that will be. I'm planning something a little bit different for next chapter. Introducing a couple new POVs that you guys haven't seen yet. Arrivaderci! (Also, if you haven't figured it out by now, I speak Italian)**


	11. Chapter 11 Cold and Dark

**Hey everybody! I need to apologize in advance for this chapter, because there is something very sad in it that I hate myself for. *Bangs head on desk* CURSE YOU MUSE! I hope you can all forgive me for it, I tried to make up for it. Anyway, onto the story.**

**MentalDoughnut-Thanks for your review! Yes, Po would definitely not be happy about leaving without breakfast. I'll have to be sure to feed him as soon as he makes his next appearance :) **

**Darkmagician1992-Thank you so much for reviewing! I wasn't really sure about how I was writing Po and Tigress, but I'm glad to hear you're enjoying the story. And thanks, you have a nice day too :)**

**~Mountain forest near the Imperial City~**

Chou always had the worst luck. Or at least, it seemed like it to her. One of her parents was an outlaw, her mother hardly let her leave the house in case she was followed and now, she was alone in the forest in the middle of the night because she'd been left behind yet again.

Oh yes, Chou just _loved _her life.

As it was, the ground was already covered with a thick blanket of snow, Chou was running out of dry fuel for the small fire she'd built and her food was almost gone. She knew if the fire went out she'd have to resume her travels through the night. Chou may have inherited some resistance to the cold from her mother but in this weather, no way she could stay put without risking her life. No, definitely better to keep running if the fire went out.

She glanced to the skies, hoping to see stars but greeted only by darkness. Even the moon was trapped behind the clouds, darkening the night. All Chou could see was the small bubble of light and warmth her fire provided. Her back was only protected from the cold by the thinnest of blankets, the only thing she could pack.

_It's worth it. You'll be part of Kung Fu history!_

Chou listened to her mind, glancing over at the small pile of twigs and leaves she'd gathered for the fire. Glancing between the wood and the fire for a few moments, she fed the rest of the fuel into the flames and lay down to sleep.

The ground against her side was cold, and she knew in the few hours until morning the snow would seep through her clothes and fur until she was bone-numbingly cold, but it didn't matter. Chou would survive. She'd been through much worse, nights lost out in the snow when she'd run from her house in anger.

Yes, Chou would make it to the Imperial City. Because her entire life, spent trapped in a house because she couldn't risk leading someone to her parents, had been leading to this. Every Kung Fu pose practiced a thousand times over, every hour spent trying to read the future and heal dying plants to perfect her skills, it had all been for this.

Chou would go down in History, because a warrior cannot be kept under lock and key.

**~Somewhere Dark~**

She was lost, floating in eternal darkness that threatened to crush the air from her lungs and snap her bones. Her days consisted of the bursts of light that sometimes consumed her vision, memories of a life once lived, she thought.

But she would never know, because if she once lived she certainly didn't remember it. She didn't even know her name, if she had one.

Sometimes when she closed her eyes, she could hear voices. Voices shouting and whispering and singing and speaking, so much emotion held within them. That was how she experienced the world, in flashes of light and voices echoing through her mind.

But sometimes, just sometimes, there was a visitor. A snow tigress that came very rarely and never stayed for long. She longed for the times she wasn't alone, for the tigress would tell her stories of times past and times to come, would call her a name that she never remembered for long when she was alone and always, _always _promised to save her.

"Hello." The voice was behind her, but the darkness constricted, holding her in place

"Hello." She said as the tigress floated through the darkness towards her

"Do you want to hear a story?" Asked the tigress

"Yes please." Said the girl

"I thought you might." The tigress smiled, crossing her legs in the darkness

And so, for hours the tigress spoke and she listened. She told her stories of things she had seen in her life, in another world. One filled with light and voices and stars. If she could travel to that world, just for a moment, she wished only to see a sky filled with stars, illuminated by the moon.

"I have to go now." The tigress said

"Alright." She replied, sad but accepting of what had to happen

"I promise I'll get you out of here one day." She said

"Thankyou." She whispered "Goodbye, um…"

"Xue. My name is Xue. Goodbye Yue."

**~The Underground City~**

Viper sat by her father's side, waiting for him to once again gain consciousness. He'd passed out before he'd had a chance to tell her about the Darkness. She knew he would wake soon, her mother had assured her he would be fine with rest, but it didn't ease Viper's nerves at all.

She shifted slightly, dry wooden floorboards rubbing against her scales. Her father was injured, her mother had barely said a word since they'd arrived and there was still one question she had yet to ask. One question she didn't dare ask, but that burned in her mind.

"Viper?" Her mother said from the doorway, slithering into the room

"Yes mother?" Viper answered, not looking up

"You need to sleep dear." Her mother said, curling her tail around Viper comfortingly

"What happened to them?" Viper said, unable to contain the question any longer

"Who?"

"My sisters. What happened to them?" Viper asked, looking up to her mother in fear

Her mother hesitated for a moment before answering, turning so she was facing Viper and looked her dead in the eye.

"Viper in the fight we were all separated and the triplets, they were trapped in the centre of town."

"They're in town? Being tortured?" Viper whispered, wide eyed as she backed away

"Not exactly. Viper, they were all separated. Suyin was taken away, Ting's in the town centre with those who weren't lucky enough to escape and Ai…" Her mother trailed off

"What happened to Ai?" Viper asked, to no response "What happened to her?" Viper demanded, voice low

"Ai was cornered by a panther. She tried to fight but…she didn't make it." Her mother said

"Ai is…dead?" Viper said, her breathing fast and uneven as her pulse sped up. Her heart prayed it wasn't true while her head told her it must be

"I'm so sorry darling, yes."

"No, no!" Viper said, backing away in horror as tears threatened to spill from her eyes

She turned and raced through the door, head down as she ignored the looks her friends gave her as she flashed past them at lightning speed. She didn't know where she was going, but suddenly the walls of the hospital made her feel claustrophobic.

She kept going until she realized that she had no idea where she was. The stone streets of the underground city had turned to dirt underneath her scales without her even realising it. As Viper looked around she saw only homes. As she continued slowly, she occasionally saw a group of children playing in the streets, or other snakes wandering down the path towards the city.

It amazed Viper how normal life could be after such a tragedy as the one her village had lived through. As she continued her journey through the streets, she eventually came to the edge of the cave.

The high rock walls were smooth, curving together at the top to form a dome. As Viper slithered closer to the border of the cave, she saw a small opening in the rocks. It was more of an archway than an opening though, carved deliberately with sides as smooth as the walls of the cave.

Suddenly curious-and looking for any distraction from the shock of what she'd learnt-Viper approached the doorway. It led into a small passage, and at first Viper thought it was another tunnel leading into the cave. But just as she was about to turn back, Viper heard sounds coming from the passage.

Just further than where she'd been, Viper emerged into a big opening. It wasn't nearly as huge as the village, but it was still big. But what Viper focused on was not the cave itself, but rather what it contained.

Because inside the cavern was a garden. It wasn't just any garden either, it was an exact replica of the one in the village above. A small path was cut into the grass that lined the ground, leading to a small marble fountain in the centre. Willow trees hung over the path and flowers bloomed between their thick trunks. Viper knew that if she continued down the track and past the fountain, she would find a small grove of fruit trees.

As she did this, Viper looked up and saw that instead of lanterns hanging from the ceiling, the cavern had holes cut through to the surface. Each was covered by a bamboo grate, preventing anybody from falling in, but allowing sunlight in to nourish the plants.

Viper found the fruit trees exactly where she knew they'd be. Each one was in bloom, covered in colourful blossoms but not yet bearing fruit.

And then Viper collapsed, curling up in the soft grass and allowing tears to flow down her face. Her sister was dead. Ai was gone, and Viper would never see her again.

She didn't know how long she was there for, but by the time someone found her Viper had cried until her eyes were raw and she was so tired that she couldn't even think.

She didn't register the soft footsteps approaching her until she felt a soft weight on her back. Viper blinked a few times, looking up to see two yellow eyes and a long beak only inches from her face.

"Crane?" Viper said, uncurling herself "What are you doing here?"

"We were all really worried about you." Crane said "Your mother told us what happened."

"I'm fine." Viper said, wiping away her tears with her tail

"You sure?" Crane asked

"Yeah, I-I'm fine." Viper said, but not a moment before she burst into tears yet again

"Hey, don't cry Viper, please." Crane said, looking completely lost as to what to do

"No I'm fine. Really." Viper said, trying to slow her breathing and stop her tears when a thought occurred to her "How did you find me?"

"It wasn't easy, we were asking around everywhere. A group of kids said they saw you walking towards the garden." Crane explained

"Thanks." Viper said

"For what?" Crane asked, confused

"For finding me." Viper replied simply

The two stared at each other for a few seconds, Viper realizing that Crane's wing was still on her back. Viper realized she was suddenly nervous

"We should get back." Viper said, looking down

"Yeah, definitely." Crane said, lifting his wing "While you were gone, your father woke up."

"He did?" Viper asked, looking back up

"Yeah. He said he was ready to tell us about the Darkness."

**OMG I'm so evil I hate myself I'm so sooooorrrryyyyy! I didn't want to kill off one of Viper's sisters but my mind made me do it! I tried to make up for it by putting a little bit of Crane/Viper in at the end there. Next chapter, I'm gonna tell you all about this mysterious Darkness.**

**Anyway. Yes, Viper actually does have sisters. In the Christmas special she mentioned having sisters, but I came up with the names and triplets thing so yeah. Please review, next chapter will be up soon hopefully! Tomorrow's mother's day though so I'll definitely be a little busy.**

**Anyway, Ciao my lovely readers!**


	12. Chapter 12 An Ancient force Plus caves

**Hey guys! This is a bit of a long chapter, and I'm not sure the history bit turned out as well as I'd hoped, but maybe you'll like it anyway.**

**MeentalDoughnut-Thanks! I actually cried a bit when I realised what I was writing. Your reviews are awesome, don't stop!**

**~The Underground Village~**

Viper and Crane arrived back at the hospital only moments after the others returned. Viper tried to avoid the other's gazes, partly from the shame of breaking down in front of them and partly from the blush that was still threatening to rise on her cheeks.

On the walk back Viper had broken down into tears twice, and both times Crane had waited patiently, comforting her with a wing on her back. Viper had finally managed to pull herself together enough to face the rest of the group again.

They followed Shifu inside, and Viper was glad the others would have something besides her to focus on. She could mourn her sister later, right now she had to make sure Ai's death wasn't meaningless.

With all of them crammed into the small room, there was barely room to breathe. All of the warriors were rather grateful to be missing Po and Tigress-it would have been rather uncomfortable had they been squeezed into the small room as well.

"Ah, you're all here." Viper's father said, slithering up the bed until he was in a sitting position

"I assume you know the information we're looking for?" Shifu said

"Yes, yes, of course." The viper master said "But it is rather a long story."

_Once, China was governed over by two forces that had existed since the beginning of time-The Light and the Darkness. And the rules of these two divine figures were simple._

_The Light and Darkness must co-exist. They must each rule over equal shares of China's fate. _

_Engaging in the affairs of China's inhabitants was strictly forbidden, unless to stop the outbreak of war. Keeping peace was one of the duties that fell to the unseen forces._

_And above all, the Light and the Darkness must never, _ever_ communicate with the animals of China._

_It was inevitable, as it always is, that one of those rules would be broken. While the Light controlled the daytime, when animals worked and fought and showed anger the likes of which should never exist, the Dark controlled the star filled nights._

_Festivals and celebrations lit the night time, but casted so many shadows for the Darkness to watch from. And in the shades that inhabited sleeping households, the Darkness saw the animals of China when they were asleep, completely at peace._

_But while the Darkness grew closer to the people of China, the Light became worried. The rules had been put in place by a being greater than them for a reason. The consequences didn't bear thinking about_

_For years the Darkness continued watching the people, unbeknownst to the Light. But one day, the Darkness was caught and the Light had no choice but to trap the Darkness, somewhere it could not interfere with the mortal world._

_A system of caves was created, and the Darkness was trapped inside an artefact, buried deep within its stone walls. The Darkness was stripped of its power, and the Light took on its duties._

_But the Darkness was not without a plan. It learnt very quickly the boundaries of its prison. The way the walls shifted as wayward travellers found their way in, leading them back to the surface as quickly as possible and always keeping the Darkness as far away as possible._

_And once the Darkness learnt to control the tunnels itself, all it had to do was wait for the right victim._

**~A Cave System, many years ago~**

Fang was lost, hopelessly and completely trapped inside a seemingly never-ending labyrinth of rock. Each step she took only led her further into the endless darkness of the caves. Every wall was the same, devoid of anything that could be used to identify it, and the rock was far too hard for Fang to consider leaving a mark on it. Her claws ached from trying.

Fang's entire reality had been cut down to the small circle of shaky light that glowed from her lantern, and even that would soon burn down to nothing. Hours had been spent wandering seemingly aimlessly through the mountain caves, but Fang knew months, years even, could be spent trying to escape if her lantern were to die. The light was her only tool in this situation, and without it she would be driven mad wandering through the darkness.

Her senses-sharp as they may be-were essentially useless. Try as she might Fang could see nothing outside of the ring of light surrounding her, which was getting smaller by the second. The caves all smelt of mould and dust, there was no scent of the outside world anywhere. The air was always the same, cool and damp against her fur. What Fang heard was the strangest.

The caves were silent save for the sounds Fang created as she sought a route out, and the occasional dripping of water from the ceiling. But when Fang strained her ears, remaining as silent as possible as she listened, she could hear sounds akin to the grinding of stones. All Fang could do was put it down to her imagination, but in the back of her mind it was still there.

Fang ignored it as she moved on, walking forwards as she sought an escape. Before long, her torch's light had dimmed until she could barely see beyond her own nose. Fang looked up at the torch at the exact moment that, with a final flicker, the flame died.

Fang had all but given up hope. Her back paws ached from the uneven ground and the small pebbles embedded in her paws from the cave floor. As she bleakly began to wonder how long she could survive in the caves, the often annoying-but just _sometimes _slightly helpful-voice in the back of her head piped up.

_You have to get out. Yue is probably terrified_

That was true. Fang had only entered the cave to check it was safe place to seek shelter for the night. She'd warned Yue to stay outside, and when Fang had turned to tell her sister it was safe to come inside the exit to the cave had vanished.

_Don't be stupid, caves don't just vanish, you obviously just went down the wrong path. Now stop sitting around and get out of here._

Fang knew her mind's voice was right, she had to get out of the caves using what she had. Which wasn't a lot.

Fang was blind without the torch, there had been no change in temperature since she'd entered the cave, and as far as she could tell there were no sights or scents to help her get out of the cave.

_You know better than this Fang. Focus on what you have, rather than what you don't._

Fang stopped. She knew there had to be a way out of this, if only she could find it.

Lowering herself onto all fours, Fang walked on through the caves. With her weight spread more evenly between her paws, Fang moved faster through the caves. She stopped occasionally, pressing her nose to the floor in search of a scent to follow. No such luck.

Fang continued this for at least an hour, but still nothing told her she was getting any closer to an escape. She sighed in defeat, slumping down against the wall carefully to avoid the sharp stones jutting out of the rock.

Wait, sharp stones?

Fang stopped, looking back to the wall. She lifted a paw in front of her, just to make sure and yes, she could see it. _It _was just the faint outline of a shadow, but it was still there. And if Fang could see, even just a little, there had to be light coming from somewhere.

With renewed energy, Fang rose to her paws and began sprinting forwards. She had come to the conclusion that something was messing with her in these caves, what it was Fang didn't know but she wasn't about to let it gain the upper hand.

After hours of endless identical tunnels, Fang was a little more than surprised when she burst into a large hollow chamber carved into the rock. It was a perfectly circular room, with spectacular rock formations hanging from the ceiling. Fang was immediately put on edge by the pointed rocks, which she knew might fall at any moment.

Directly below the hanging rocks was a small altar, built of smooth black obsidian laced with intricate silver designs. The box resting on the altar followed the same design, and Fang couldn't resist taking a step forward towards the low table.

She stopped, mentally scolding herself as she let her emotions get the better of her. But as soon as she realised the small box was the source of the soft light enveloping the room, Fang was easily able to justify taking that last step too run her hands over the box.

As soon as Fang touched it her mind erupted with voices, whispering so fast through her head it was all she could do to recoil in surprise.

Determined that she wasn't going insane, Fang reached out and tentatively ran one clawed finger across the box's latch. The voices came again, but this time Fang listened, trying to make out what they were saying.

It all seemed to be the same voice, speaking over and over again, echoing to overlap itself and make it seem like many.

_Open the box, set me free._

It was obviously some kind of trap the voice, although perfectly calm, set Fang on edge. But something about the elegant ribbons of silver twisting around the swirling blackness just made Fang swipe at the lock, breaking it easily.

And as soon as she did…nothing happened.

Fang waited a few moments, expecting perhaps the lid to be thrown back as some divine force escaped from the box, or for a dazzling light to burst through the cracks of the lid, but neither of those things happened.

She reached out and touched the box again, but the voice was no longer there. Knowing it was a bad idea but somehow not caring, Fang slowly lifted the lid.

Inside, sitting on a black cushion, was a simple silver chain. But as soon as Fang opened the box, the voice returned.

"_You have set me free." _It said

"Who are you?" Fang demanded, achieving a slightly more curious tone than she'd aimed for

"_I am the Darkness. I was imprisoned here, left to rot, but you have saved me." _ The Darkness replied

"What do you want?" Fang said, managing to inject some of her normal tone into the question

"_Who said I wanted anything?" _The voice whispered, speaking as though it was right beside Fang's ear _"You have saved me. I am in your debt, not the other way around."_ It said innocently

"Can you lead me out of this cave?" Fang asked

"_Is your vision really so small? Surely there is something more I could give you, something you desire but cannot have."_

"Revenge." Fang muttered under her breath, but the Darkness obviously heard it because moments later it spoke

"_Ah, you wish for vengeance. You must have been victim to a heinous crime for such a _beautiful _flower such as yourself to be plotting such things." _The Darkness said, whispering in Fang's ear

It put Fang on edge, the way it was complementing her and pushing her to think big, but somehow she found all her fears put at ease. Every worry was erased from her mind as she focused on the voice once again whispering in her ear.

"_Tell me, who is it that hurt you so deeply?"_

"Xue. But I cannot defeat her, she is too strong." Fang lamented

"_Surely with my power, you could shatter her." _The Darkness urged

"Can you defeat the power of the Gods? She is infused with their power." Fang said, remembering the tales Xue had once told her

"_Well, with a little extra power, and working together, I'm sure there is nothing we could not achieve." _The Darkness said, its voice almost a purr as Fang felt a coolness brushing under her chin

"What do you need?" Fang asked

"_A sacrifice, to increase my powers." _The Darkness said

"I have no problem killing." Fang said

"_You don't understand. I need a _blood _sacrifice." _The Darkness drawled

Fang stopped for a moment, her expression unreadable as the weight of what the Darkness had just said settled over her. She seemed to struggle with her conscience for a moment, but ultimately Fang's need for revenge won.

"I assume you were the one changing around the tunnels?" Fang asked

"_What my powers have been reduced to saddens me." _The Darkness said, and Fang could just imagine it shaking its head

"Make a tunnel to the surface." Fang instructed

Fang looked out of the door in interest, watching as rock grated against rock and one tunnel closed to form another. It was a long tunnel, and much better refined than the ones she'd walked through for uncounted hours. The floor and walls were smooth, and the passageway was perfectly straight, and at the end was a circle of golden evening sunlight.

"_What are you doing?" _ The Darkness asked curiously, though Fang guessed it probably already knew

"Getting you your sacrifice." Fang said, before taking a deep breath and raising her voice to a yell.

"YUE!"

**So that's another chapter. A bit longer than I anticipated, but I think if I shortened it then it wouldn't have turned out as good. I hope you like it, please review even if you didn't! Next chapter-back to the Imperial City (finally), maybe a little Tigress/Po action (don't pretend you don't want it)**

**Ciao i miei amici (Bye my friends)**


	13. Chapter 13 Escape from the City

**Hey guys, here it is unlucky chapter 13. I think the guys had a bit of bad luck in this chapter, but I don't know. It's you guys who get to make that call.**

**MentalDoughnut-Thanks, I'm glad you liked the way I did the caves and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!**

**Darkmagician1992- and how I wrote Fang. I felt like I wasn't writing her revengey enough (Ok, so that's not a word, but we'll move on), but I always knew what was going to happen to Yue. You have a nice day too :)**

**M4dG4rl-Thanks! And reviews are never pointless, they make me want to keep writing! I hope you keep reading and enjoying (And maybe reviewing) :p**

***EDIT* I've changed this chapter slightly because there was something that one of my friends put in when I left my laptop open. Thankyou to MentalDoughnut for pointing out the...rather strange joke Tigress makes. I've replaced it with some other her dialogue.**

**~The Imperial City~**

After learning of the panthers in the Imperial City, the warriors hidden inside the city walls had hurried to leave. Tigress and Po, lacking any belonging to pack, had instead taking the job of making the house look as abandoned as it had the when Xue and Tai-lung had arrived.

Once the house looked suitably uninhabited, there was only one problem to deal with.

"We need to leave _now_." Xue said urgently "There could be patrols looking for us."

"What do we do about Jade?" Tigress asked "She can't walk, and Fang can use her to track us."

"We bring her with us, there's no other option." Xue said

"Can we stop Fang from finding her?" Tigress asked

"It's possible." Xue said

Opening her pack and hunting around inside it for something, Xue pointedly ignored the questioning look of her sister. Her face was screwed up in concentration as she moved her hand through her belongings, searching for something. Her effort was rewarded a few moments later when she pulled out her paw, a triumphant look on her face as she released her grip on the small object.

A thin white chain dangled from her paw, made from a metal that Tigress couldn't identify.

"What's that?" Po asked, looking at the chain in confusion

"Is that…?" Tigress asked, trailing off as she moved closer to the chain. Tai-lung also noticed what was going on, and intervened in the conversation

"That is a very bad idea." Tai-lung said, lifting his eyes from the chain to meet Xue's gaze

"What is it?" Po asked, feeling left out of the conversation

"It's a chain directly linked to my powers." Xue explained "It will hide the Jade from Fang as long as she wears it."

"What's stopping Fang from finding her now?" Po asked

"Fang can only find Jade if she's moving, or if she summons her."

"And the chain will stop her from doing that?" Po asked

"It will." Tigress broke in "But it will also drain you of your powers Xue."

"We need your powers to stop Fang." Tai-lung agreed

"It's the only way." Xue said firmly, and before anyone could stop her slipped the chain around Jade's neck

If Tigress had been expecting a reaction, some kind of instant sign that the chain had taken effect, she would have been disappointed. The only reaction was from Xue, who closed her eyes for a moment as her powers were strained. It was gone as soon as it came, the concentration on her features replaced by her usual relaxed expression.

With that done, everybody grabbed their packs, Tai-lung carrying Jade in his arms, and they left.

Outside, the streets were much the same as they'd been before. Empty and Quiet. Before then, that had been enough to reassure Tigress that there weren't any guards nearby, but now it only made her suspicious.

They made slow progress towards the city walls, stopping at each corner and randomly changing course at least a dozen times on Xue's command, most likely to avoid guards she'd sensed in the area.

Almost an hour later, they were almost at the walls. Just a few more metres and they'd be scaling the walls to freedom. Tigress should have known it wouldn't have been that easy.

"Nobody move!" A voice yelled behind them

Just a few steps from the walls, the guards appeared. At least ten from each direction, there were over fifty guards surrounding them. Wolves and panthers stood, ready to attack at the first sign that the warriors might put up a fight.

"What do we do?" Po whispered

"We're not going down without a fight." Tigress replied

"Is there a plan?" Po asked

"Attack on the signal." Tigress confirmed

"Signal?"

"NOW!" Tigress yelled

At the exact moment Tigress yelled, Tai-lung (who was still carrying Jade) dashed at the wall, using the momentum to run up it and place Jade down at the top before flipping backwards and landing with a wolf under each of his back paws.

Tigress, after giving the signal, charged forward into a one of the groups of guards and began fighting them off. As she flipped a wolf over her head to slam it into one of its allies, she caught sight of Po taking on a similar number of wolves to herself.

Tai-lung, after landing on the two wolves, had begun fending off the rest of the wolves that swarmed him. Xue had leapt to the other side of the battle to her husband, and the two were making their way towards the centre of the battle, fighting enemies as they did.

The wolves proved to be a much easier enemy than the panthers. Tigress had taken down at least ten wolf guards but was struggling against three panthers. As soon as she knocked one down another got up.

She narrowly avoided a kick to the head by dropping to her hands, and in the same motion swung her legs out to trip her enemies. Two of the panthers were felled by the move, but one remained standing.

Tigress knew the other two hadn't hit the ground hard, and there was only seconds before they rose again. Dodging a punch from the panther in front of her, Tigress lunged forward, as though to strike her opponent, but pulled back at the last second. The panther was fooled by the move, pulling her weight backwards to dodge the non-existent move, and it was all Tigress needed.

In the second her opponent was off balance, Tigress kicked the panther in the temple, hard, just as the other two began to rise. As her first opponent fell Tigress used the unsteadiness in the other two to her advantage.

As they each rushed at her from different sides, Tigress waited until the last possible moment to sidestep, sweeping her leg out to trip the panthers and send them crashing into each other. But her battle wasn't over yet.

Po was struggling against six wolves, and for his part was doing well, but it quickly became evident that he was overwhelmed. For every hit Po landed he was being struck twice, and the wolves only seemed to be getting stronger.

Tigress jumped towards Po, aiming her foot at a wolf as she flew through the air, when suddenly her course changed.

She didn't feel the impact until she was on the ground, gasping for the air that had been knocked out of her when the panther collided with her stomach. There wasn't anything Tigress could do as she felt as though her lungs were collapsing.

Meanwhile Po was fast losing his battle, with only one of the four wolves down. Tai-lung and Xue had reached each other in the centre of the battle and were being overrun by panthers and wolves. The battle was all but lost, they were outnumbered five to one.

Tigress had never seen Xue use her powers in battle. Xue using her powers to heal was another story entirely, but until that day Tigress had never seen Xue use her powers violently, and it soon became evident why.

The second Tigress realised what was happening Tai-lung yelled "GET DOWN!", and the next thing she knew Tigress was staring up into blinding white light, and her ears rang with the pained cries of their enemies. She raised an arm to shield her eyes, and when she removed it Xue was offering her a hand up.

"Thanks." Tigress said, accepting the hand as her breath slowly returned

The unconscious bodies of wolves and panthers lay scattered across the ground. Some looked as though they'd tried to run, and Tigress could've sworn there were more panthers in the fight, but at that point it was more important to get out of there before Fang had a chance to send reinforcements.

She looked over to Po, who was being helped up by Tai-lung. It looked as though he'd got down in time when Xue had attacked, and apart from the damage done by the wolves he was fine.

Xue, on the other hand, was far from it. The blue of her eyes had faded until they were dull and as pale as ice. Her hands were shaking and it looked as though it took great effort just to stand, but before Tigress could question it she was scaling the city walls.

"I guess we're moving again." Tai-lung said from behind Tigress

It had taken from dawn to noon to escape from the city, Po and Tigress leading the way to the campsite they'd been using previously. And the first thing Po had done was light a fire to cook some food.

Tigress wasn't sure where Tai-lung and Xue were, Jade lying on a bed mat in the small clearing where Po was cooking and Tigress herself was sitting a little ways away, propped up against a tree as she overlooked the city, attempting to meditate.

The ground before her sloped away to form the valley the city rested in, its building towering above the surrounding hills. Tigress had been there before, she knew what the city had once looked like, but now she was angered to see it in such a state of destruction.

Most of the fires had died, likely from running out of fuel. The buildings of stone, that couldn't be burnt, looked as though one of Shen's cannons had been taken to them. Even from the hilltop Tigress could see marketplaces and squares destroyed, the wreckage strewn across the ground the only remnants of innocent lives one lived there. Tigress closed her eyes, breathing deeply as she tried to clear the images from her mind. She'd been there to meditate, and that was what she intended to do.

She was very surprised when she found a bowl being pushed into her paws. She opened her eyes to find Po standing in front of her, holding a bowl of his own.

"Thankyou Po." She said, taking the bowl

"No problem." Po said happily. He lingered for just a moment, as though debating whether to join her

"You can sit down Po." Tigress said

"Are you sure?I mean, I can go if you were meditating." Po said

"It's fine Po." Tigrrss assured him, taking a mouthful of the noodles "These are really good."

"Nah, it's just plain old noodle soup." Po said modestly

"You shouldn't underestimate yourself." Tigress said seriously, before bursting into laughter

"What? What's so funny?" Po asked, confused

"Oh nothing, _Master Shifu._" Tigress said, a paw over her mouth to stifle her laughter

"Wha-Oh." Po said, finally catching on and slurping the noodle from his nose "Better?"

"Much." Tigress said, finishing her own meal

The two sat in a comfortable silence for a while, both lost in thought.

"So, what happens now?" Po asked a while later

"I don't know." Tigress answered truthfully "We wait for the others to come back, and then we explain."

"Should they have been back by now?" Po asked, his expression thoughtful

"It depends if they ran into trouble on the way. And if Fang was looking for something in Viper's village then she might already have troops there." Tigress explained

"Oh, right." Po said, imagining what Viper would be going through if her village was invaded

"Po, they'll be fine." Tigress said, realizing Po's thoughts

"I know. But they're our friends, we have to worry." Po said

Tigress had no response, so instead just grabbed her empty bowl and stood.

"Here, give me yours as well." Tigress said, motioning towards Po's bowl

"No, I can wash up." Po protested, but Tigress wouldn't hear it

"You made the food, the dishes are the least I can do." Tigress said, reaching for Po's bowl but instead grabbing empty air

"You want it? Come and get it!" Po said challengingly, holding the bowl high above his head and jumping backwards

"Alright _Dragon Warrior _let's see what you've got." Tigress said with mock seriousness

Without waiting a moment Tigress pounced, but Po had seen it coming and ducked. What he hadn't anticipated was Tigress grabbing his wrist and flipping him over her head as she landed. Po hit the ground with a thud, the bowl rolling away from his hand.

Tigress sauntered over to it triumphantly, but just as she reached for the bowl Po sprung up, determined to get to it first. As soon as Tigress saw the flash of movement she sprang for the bowl, but at the same time Po had thrown himself across the ground towards the offending dish.

The two collided inches from the bowl, and began rolling uncontrollably down the slope they'd been sitting on until they landed on level ground with a thump. Po had landed on his back while Tigress had ended up lying on his stomach.

There was a moment of awkward silence as the two warriors realised how close they were, noses practically touching, before Tigress pulled herself out of the daze she was in and rolled off of Po. The silence stretched a few more seconds before Po finally spoke.

"That was AWESOME!" He laughed, and soon Tigress found herself joining in

It was a while before they went back up to the camp, and they never did find the bowl.

**Whoa, a whole chapter on the gang in the Imperial City! I did not expect to write that, or for it to be so long. Just like I promised, some Ti/Po there for all of you. Next chapter, you ask? I'm not sure, but give me two days and I'll churn out another chapter for you. I promise I know where this is going ok? We all good? Cool.**

**Please review if you liked. Or not. Or whatever.**

**Ciao tesori :)**


	14. Chapter 14 Bad Ideas

**Ciao guys. A bit of a short chapter today, couldn't figure out a good way to end this so you've got what you've got. I've been a bit busy with school and general life, but I'm still posting so that's good :)**

**MentalDoughbut-Thanks for your review, and thankyou for pointing out the joke that Tigress made. It turns out one of my friends was messing with my laptop while I wasn't looking, so it's a good thing you pointed that out to me. And as for how Xue used her powers while Jade was wearing the necklace, the necklace isn't meant to use all of Xue's powers, it just uses as much as is required, which makes Xue weaker. I hope that makes sense :|**

**The pizza man-Thanks, glad you liked it.**

**darkmagician1992-Thanks, so glad you liked the Ti/Po action there. I hope you like this chapter (although not a lot happens) and you have a nice day too.**

**~Mountain Forest near the Imperial City~**

It had been five days.  
Five _days_.  
Five days wandering around the forest, slowly running out of food, slowly getting colder, slowly getting weaker.  
Five days of hell.

Her time in the forest had definitely taken its toll on Chou. The end of the food supply had nearly made her turn back, but then Chou's rational mind had managed to talk some sense into her. She knew where she was going, it was just a matter of time before she found it.

Time was the problem. Chou had only been here once before, when she was very young and her mother had business in the Imperial City. Back when her father had still been in prison. 16 years had messed with Chou's mind, and now she was left wandering around the forest aimlessly until she found the entrance to the safe house she'd stayed in as a child. And she was sure she'd seen that tree at least twice before.

The forest around her only served to confuse Chou. More than once she'd tried to climb a tree to gain a better vantage point, but each time she only saw the steep slope of the mountain behind her, curving to a summit high in the clouds, and the expanse of the forest before her.

She knew that somewhere in the forest should be a doorway, hidden in the roots of an ancient tree. The only problem was, Chou was in an ancient forest, absolutely _filled _with ancient trees. She'd be certain that she'd found the right tree, only to be disappointed later.

Chou knew she was lost-even if she was too proud to admit it to anyone later. Forests, as great as they were for hiding in, didn't really present any distinguishing landmarks. Which made it very easy to get lost, which of course Chou wasn't. She just didn't know where she was going.

After spending the entire day wandering around, Chou was exhausted. Her paws hurt and the cold bit at her through her thin clothes. Most of her extremities were numb and Chou wasn't sure how much longer she could keep going before she did permanent damage to herself. Fortunately, right at that moment the ground gave way beneath her feet.

For a moment Chou felt fear grip at her chest as she fell, but only seconds later she landed with a soft thud on something that felt suspiciously like a pile of cushions.

And when she looked, Chou found that was exactly what it was. She looked around, and realised she was in some kind of underground storage room, filled with pillows, blankets and bed rolls, and the room looked kind of familiar.

When it clicked, and Chou realised where she was, the only thing she could do was fist-pump in triumph. She looked up at where she'd fallen from, realising she'd inadvertently stepped on a hatch. She jumped up several times before she managed to bat it shut with her paw. Making sure it was secure-she didn't want anybody else discovering this place-she grabbed her bag from the pile of pillows and left.

After leaving the room Chou headed straight for the kitchen, taking a few wrong turns along the way, and was glad to find someone had stocked the cupboards recently. She pondered who might have done that as she prepared and ate the food, and decided that is must have been Jade. Few knew the location of the hideout.

One part of Chou wanted to spend the rest of the day exploring the hideout, reliving childhood memories, but her inner warrior quickly squashed that part of her mind. Now that she knew where she was, Chou had to plan her next move. Chou had to plan how she would defeat Fang.

**~The Underground Village~**

Viper slithered through the perfectly replicated streets of her village, still thinking about what her father had told them.

She had learnt that Fang was strong with the power of the Darkness, and that her bond with the ancient force had given her powers beyond description. And with that information came the knowledge that Fang would be their biggest challenge yet.

Viper broke from her thoughts with a start, realising she had brought herself to the marketplace. And that every other snake in the streets was looking at her.

She spent the rest of the morning talking with old friends, telling people of her life in the Jade Palace, and finding out exactly what had happened in the village above.

It was a bitter mix of joy and sadness that Viper was only half glad ended when the rest of her friends found their way to the marketplace. With everything that'd been happening, the villagers hadn't yet met the Furious Five-minus Tigress-in their entirety.

"Viper, we've been looking for you." Shifu said "Again."

"Sorry Master." Viper said "I only wanted to see the village."

"Of course. But we'll be leaving tonight to return to the Imperial City." Shifu said

"Tonight?" Viper said, shocked

"We will travel under the cover of darkness." Shifu said

"Yes Master. May I spend some more time in the village?" Viper asked, trying to regain her composure

"As long as you're ready to leave by sundown." Shifu said

"Thankyou Master." Viper said, bowing to her Master before slithering off

Viper wandered around the marketplace, seemingly aimlessly as she became lost in her thoughts. She had hoped for more time in the village, at least a day or two more, because between mourning her sister and learning about the Darkness, Viper had formed a plan.

A dangerous plan, of course, but one that Viper knew was worth every risk involved. Viper planned to rescue her sister from village above. Maybe it was suicidal, maybe it would be easy-Viper didn't know. That was the problem, she just didn't know anything about what was going on above. If she had just a little more time, Viper could've gone to the surface and gathered all the information she needed, but now any hope of going to the village while it was dark and rescuing her sister was out of the question.

It was daylight or nothing, and she was running out of time.

**So it's a little short, sorry about that. I'm in the process of writing a KFP one shot, so I'd appreciate anybody that reads that when it comes out. It won't delay chapter 15 too much, so until then ciao!**


	15. Chapter 15 Rescue

**I am so sorry for the long wait for the update! I have exams in a couple of weeks plus about a million assignments due soon, so I've just been massively busy. Next chapter will hopefully be a lot sooner, because I am definitely not abandoning this story.**

**MentalDoughnut-Thanks for the reviews! I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long for this chapter. And no problem with the questions, it's all good :p**

**The pizza man-Thanks for the review, even if you don't have much to say :)**

**~The Underground Village~**

_This is a bad idea Viper. Don't do this._

Viper knew she should listen to herself. Knew that she should just turn around and go back to the others. She had no reason to believe that she could do this on her own.

The village above was filled with wolves, panthers and rhinos. An army inhabiting a city, and Viper was about to walk straight into it.

_You don't have to._

Except she did. Viper's sister was up there, she couldn't just walk away. No matter how dangerous it was.

Viper stood in front of the tunnel that would take her to the surface, staring down the slope, willing herself to move. Viper knew she had to hurry. Sundown was approaching, and her chance of saving her sister was dying with the light.

She had to move. She had to do _something_, because if she didn't Viper would have to live with it.

"Viper?" So much for not getting caught

"Crane?" Viper said turning around slowly

"What are you doing?" Crane asked, looking behind Viper to the tunnel

"I was just-"

"I know you were going to the surface." Crane said, cutting her off

"I won't let you stop me." Viper said

"I don't want to stop you." Crane replied, shocking Viper into silence "I want to help you. We all do."

Crane looked behind him, and Monkey and Mantis stepped out from an alleyway, nodding to show their agreement with Crane.

"Then let's go." Viper said

The situation on the surface was as bad as Viper had feared. Rhinos and wolves patrolled the streets, while panthers lurked almost unseen in darkened alleys, abandoned buildings, anywhere there was a shadow.

They only had one hour until sunset, and in that time they had to reach the city centre, find Viper's sister and make it back without being seen. The village wasn't massive, it would only be a matter of minutes before they reached the city centre-it was the rest of the plan that needed work.

By the time they reached the edge of the city centre, the group had narrowly avoided being seen at least a dozen times. They still couldn't be sure if the panthers had seen them, but the rest of the guards in the village still seemed to be as relaxed as they had before.

Crane was flying high above them, disguised in the clouds. He'd swooped down a moment before, signalling that a group of guards was nearby. They had to be careful. Once they were seen, it would eliminate any chance they had of a quick rescue.

The three warriors had to run through the village streets-the rooftops were too easily seen. But in this another problem was presented, their enemies could be anywhere. In the next street, in any alleyway they passed, hiding inside abandoned buildings.

The city centre, however was completely different. Their enemies made no attempt to hide-their sheer numbers were enough to scare off anybody. It seemed like every wolf, rhino and panther in china was in Viper's village.

Destruction similar to the havoc wreaked on the Imperial City was evident. Fire, destroyed buildings, death. Viper didn't want to look, but she had to. She had to force herself to look, to scan the faces of prisoners, looking for her sister.

It took almost a full minute for Viper to find her, just when she was thinking she'd lost another sister, but there she was. Slithering through the camp as she tried to avoid the gaze of her captors, face turned to the ground as she walked among them.

Viper turned her gaze away from the camp, back to the faces of her fellow warriors and friends. She knew that if she looked for even a second more her anger would get the better of her.

"What's the plan?"" Mantis asked

"I have a plan." Viper said "But you won't like it."

With only fifteen minutes until sunset, the plan was set-albeit with much disagreement from everyone. Crane had joined them on the ground, and they were all standing at the back of an alley, huddled around a plan drawn into the dirt.

"Let's go over it one more time." Viper said, looking to everyone and receiving a nod of agreement "Alright. I'll sneak into the camp and find Ting. If I can, I'll get out without a fight."

"And if you're found out, we'll be waiting on the nearby rooftops." Monkey said, Mantis nodding from his shoulder

"But I'll be in the air, ready to grab you before things get violent." Crane added

"All right. Is everybody ready?" Viper asked

"We're ready." Monkey and Mantis said

"Me too." Crane added

"Ok." Viper turned to leave the alley, but then turned back "One more thing." She said, stepping back to the group

Quickly-well aware of the time constraints-Viper swept her lotus flowers off with her tail, handing them to Monkey.

"They'll recognise me with those." Viper explained "And I'd better get them back." She added, just a little bit threateningly

With that the four warriors split up, each going to complete their part of the plan. Viper slowly made her way into the city centre, staying in the uninhabited shadows of the buildings. It would only work so long as she stayed in the outskirts, but to rescue her sister Viper knew she would have to go further into enemy territory.

She slowly inched out from the shadows, looking around for any enemy guards. There were no wolves or rhinos nearby, but Viper couldn't be sure about panthers. She thought back to her training, trying to remember what she'd been taught about stealth.

Waiting a few moments, until she was as sure as she could be that there were no panthers watching her, Viper slithered through the city centre. As she entered the guarded section of the city, Viper lowered her head. She slowed her pace, trying to blend in with the few other snakes moving around.

She searched every face, looking for her sister. Then she saw her, slithering through the city centre. She didn't see Viper watching her, but in that one moment Viper let her emotions get the best of her. That was her mistake.

In a flash she was by her sister's side, looking down into wide, shock filled eyes.

"Viper?" She asked, as though she thought she was crazy

"It's me Ting. I'm really here." Viper assured her sister, holding Ting with her tail

But the scene unfolding between the two sisters hadn't gone without notice. Two rhino guards had seen Viper, and were already making their way over to the two snakes.

"What's going on here?" One of them demanded in a gruff voice

The two sisters broke apart, Ting looking absolutely terrified and Viper doing her best to imitate that look.

"I'm sorry." Viper said, trying her best to act sincere "I just didn't know my sister was here."

"No communication between prisoners." The second guard said, smiling sadistically

"Yeah. So, what are we going to do about this little transgression?" The first one agreed, sharing his friend's grin

Viper looked up, her fear not all an act. The others would come. She wasn't alone. But Ting didn't know that. She was already shying away from the guards, pleading with them to let them go.

Then the rhinos were advancing on them, towering over them. One of them was pulling out a knife, and he was aiming it at Ting. The only thing Viper could do was move in front of her terrified sister, standing between her and the armed rhino.

"Don't you touch her." Viper hissed, bringing herself up to full height

She didn't dare attack the guards, they'd know who she was in a heartbeat. All she could do was stand in the way of their weapons and wait for her rescue.

_Come on guys. Don't let us down._

The guard was still advancing, his grin gone and replaced by a look of annoyance. He'd wanted to attack Ting, and now Viper was in his way. He was only inches from Viper, she knew that in only a second she'd be forced to defend herself.

She closed her eyes, just for a moment, about to attack, when she was suddenly pulled back.

Actually, she was pulled up. Viper opened her eyes again, and saw the ground getting farther away. Looking up, she saw Crane, one talon closed around her and one around Ting.

And Ting had no idea what was going on. She looked as though she were about to scream.

"Ting, it's ok. He's a friend." Viper assured her sister

"Yeah, I am." Crane agreed, looking underneath his wing at them

"Alright." Ting said, looking between Crane and Viper uncertainly

Viper slithered out from Crane's grasp, sliding up his body until she was on his back with her tail curled around him so she didn't fall. Ting, with a little more hesitation did the same.

"Viper, there's one other thing." Crane said

"What?" Viper asked, suddenly completely alert

"It's after sunset."

**Ok, next chapter's gonna be big. As in, the guys in Viper's village are going back to the Imperial City, and I'll throw in some more romance for y'all too.**


	16. Chapter 16 Dissapointed in the Fight

**Hey guys, I am back with chapter 16! I'm sorry for the wait, but I had a bit of trouble getting this chapter started. I promise I'm not abandoning this story, and I'll keep posting until it's done alright? Ok, now that we've got that sorted, onto the story.**

**MentalDoughnut-Thanks for your review, I'm really glad that you like this story. I actually used some of your review as a bit of dialogue in this chapter, so look out for that :P I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**Fallen Angel-Really? Thanks, that's awesome. It's great to know people are actually reading my story :)**

**The pizza man-Thanks for your review, keep reading and enjoying.**

**~Imperial City Outskirts~**

The sun had set on another day outside the Imperial City, and for the warriors stationed there tensions were high.

Guards had been sent out to find them, combing through the forests around the city as they searched. By some miracle, the guards had not yet found them, but it really was only a matter of time.

"We should move. The stronghold's not far." Tai-lung said, speaking to Xue

"Not yet." She replied, eyes closed as she relaxed against a tree "We wait for the others."

"And if we're caught?" Tai-lung said, looking over at Xue

"We won't be." Xue said cryptically

She gave no explanation for her certainty, she didn't even open her eyes as she defended her decision. It didn't matter. If Xue said they wouldn't be caught, then they just wouldn't. It was as simple as that.

_Meanwhile, with Tigress and Po_

As night fell over the Imperial City, Tigress and Po had wordlessly agreed not to sleep. The others would be back that night, there was no denying it, which meant that sleeping probably wasn't a good idea.

Tigress had barely said a word since she woke up that morning, and after going off to meditate Po hadn't seen her for most of the day. She'd come back as the sun was beginning to set, still remaining silent. Po hadn't wanted to break the silence, not only because he didn't know what to say but also because he wasn't sure what Tigress would do if he tried to talk to her.

Time stretched on that way until darkness had completely consumed the land, and the guards from the city had given up their search for another night. In the end it was Tigress who broke the silence, speaking to Po only when they were alone again, washing up after dinner.

"Thankyou Po." Tigress said, placing the last of the bowls back inside Po's pack

"For what?"

"For everything." Tigress said "For taking all of this so well. And for not freaking out." Tigress said, smiling slightly as she finished speaking

"Friends have to stick together." Po said

"Friends also shouldn't keep secrets from each other." Tigress said seriously

"Tigress, you haven't done anything wrong." Po said, turning to Tigress "You were just protecting your family."

"The others won't see it that way." Tigress said, getting up to walk away from the clearing

"How do you know?" Po protested, following Tigress

"Because we're not like you Po. Remember when you first came to the Jade Palace, how we treated you?" Tigress said, anger rising within her

"You'd only just met me, and we've all changed since then." Po said

"And if you're wrong? And they aren't as accepting as you?" Tigress asked, turning to stare at Po with an intensity he'd never seen before

Po faltered under her gaze, his voice deserting him as every argument he'd had suddenly disappeared from his mind. He struggled to find something, _anything_, to say, but only ended up stuttering out half a response before he decided it would be a good idea to stop.

"Po," Tigress began, her voice much calmer than before "what's about to happen is something I've been fearing ever since I was young. I appreciate everything you've said and done, but not matter what happens I'm still going to worry."

Po stopped for a moment then suddenly, without warning, surged forward to hug Tigress. He felt her tense, and for a moment expected a fist to come flying towards him, but it didn't happen. Instead, he felt Tigress relax, then bring her arms up to hug Po back.

**~The Underground Village~**

"Viper, I am very disappointed in you." Shifu said

Viper hung her head, trying to both stare at the ground and look her Master in the eye. Ultimately she chose to look down, unable to meet Shifu's gaze.

"Disappointed that you didn't ask for my assistance."

Viper snapped her head up, looking at her Master with both shock and confusion.

"Master?" Viper said

"As Masters of Kung Fu we are to protect the weak at all costs. Such as you did in rescuing your sister." Shifu said

"I'm sorry Master." Viper said, still unsure as to what to say

"Viper, you took it upon yourself to rescue someone in need. I'm proud of you." Shifu said

"Thankyou Master." Viper said, bowing

"We will be leaving in five minutes Viper." Shifu said

Viper, getting the message, bowed slightly before rushing off to find her family.

The goodbye had to be short, but Viper made sure she bid farewell to every member of her family properly before she had to leave.

Finally, Viper joined the others. Some of the villagers had gathered to watch them go, and as they left Viper cast one last glance at her village and her people, before following her fellow warriors through the tunnel.

**~Imperial City Outskirts (again)~**

"The guards are back." Tai-lung announced, entering the clearing

"Where?" Tigress asked, looking up from where she was organising her pack

"Not far from here. If we're still waiting you'd better be ready to fight." Tai-lung said

"They'll be here soon." Po said, cutting into the conversation

"So will the guards." Tai-lung said

"We fight." Tigress said

"Xue has Jade, they're safe. All we have to do is wait."

That was how the next three hours were spent-waiting. A tense silence filled the clearing, nobody daring to make a sound as the guards ventured ever closer. Each patrol came closer than the last, turning away later.

_Meanwhile, Nearby…_

"Why are there so many guards?" Monkey asked in a whisper

"Shush, they'll hear us." Viper said, putting her tail to her mouth in a shushing motion

"He's right, there are definitely more guards than before." Crane agreed

"Students, quiet." Shifu demanded

"Bit late for that." Mantis said

"What?" Viper said, looking at him questioningly

"You might want to turn around." Mantis said

They all turned to find themselves faced with a pack of wolf guards, most of them smiling cruelly, and they were advancing fast.

The warriors exchanged one glance before running into battle. They were outnumbered more than three to one, but none of them were worried. The odds never seemed to be even.

Viper wove around the wolves, using her tail to make on wolf punch itself while strangling another. Crane flew into the air, swooping down and using his wings to knock wolves off their feet. Mantis was dashing across the fight, picking up wolves and slamming them into the ground while Monkey was swinging between wolves and trees, using the momentum to slam into enemies.

Shifu was finishing off the rest of the enemies, using a combination of Kung Fu and his staff to defeat the last wolves standing.

Once the last wolf had been felled they all stood for a moment, getting their breath back.

"Well done." A voice said behind them

The group turned quickly, only to find a group of panthers standing before them.

"You took down those wolves without any trouble at all." The lead panther said "Perhaps we underestimated you. Anybody that can take down that many guards, even if they are just those mindless wolves, deserves at least a little respect from me and my sisters."

There were at least a dozen panthers, maybe more hidden in the trees. The warriors hadn't even had a chance to recover from their last battle before they were swarmed by the panthers, and it was immediately apparent they were outmatched.

For every hit one of them landed they were being struck twice, and after nearly exhausting themselves in the fight they'd only taken down three panthers.

Then suddenly, there were others fighting the panthers. All that could be seen through the battle was flashes of orange, black and white as everybody moved at lightning speed with renewed energy, but they all understood what was happening.

Then the battle was over, with all the enemies defeated and on the ground, and as the adrenaline wore off everybody looked up, expecting to see only Po and Tigress, and saw something they were completely unprepared for.

There were a few seconds of silence in the forest, in which nobody spoke but everybody stared at what was, undoubtedly, Tai-lung. Very much alive and completely uninjured, Tai-lung. Everybody but Po and Tigress instinctively took up a fighting stance without even questioning what was happening.

"Wait!" Po said, stepping between them "They're on our side!"

"They?" Everybody said

Right at that moment Xue jumped down from a tree, landing on the ground silently holding Jade in her arms.

"Before you ask the inevitable and obvious questions, might I suggest we get out of here?" Xue said calmly

Another few seconds of silence followed before everybody started talking at once, yelling questions and answers into the forest with nobody getting anywhere because they weren't listening.

"EVERYBODY SHUT UP!" Jade yelled, surprising even Xue "There-there are guards." She had trouble getting the words out, but everyone realised just how much noise they'd been making.

"There's a stronghold in the woods not far from here. We'll be safe there." Tigress said

"Can we even trust them?" Viper asked, motioning to Tai-lung and Xue

"Trust us all at least until we're away from the guards." Po said

"Alright." Viper agreed

"I'm in." Crane said

"I don't really want to fight any more guards." Monkey said

"This could work." Mantis said, leaving only Shifu unaccounted for

"Show us the way." Shifu said, managing to speak through his shock at the situation

"Then let's go." Tai-lung said


	17. Chapter 17 Powers

**Ok, I'm sorry *cowers behind couch* please don't kill me! I've just had absolutely no time to write recently! I had exam week a couple weeks ago and after that I spent most of my time with a friend of mine who's suffering from severe depression and finally, to top it off I almost got a concussion yesterday packing up a tripod…don't ask. Thanks to those who understand!**

**MentalDoughnut-Thanks for your review and patience waiting for this chapter! Things are finally getting back to some level of sanity here, so expect more chapters soon! I agree, it's going to take time for everybody to trust Tai-lung.**

**Fallen Angel-Thanks, I'm glad to hear you liked the story :)**

**The pizza man-Great to hear from you again! Thanks so much for your reviews. Atlanta Braves? Cool.**

**~Mountain Forest near the Imperial City~**

The group of warriors walked almost silently through the mountain forest. Even Tai-lung seemed lost as to where they were going, but Xue walked on with purpose, still holding Jade in her arms.

The silence wasn't all for the sake of stealth, they'd passed the last of the guards much earlier. Now that same quiet stretched on, filling the air as they moved further into the forest and higher up the mountain. Nobody knew what to say or how to speak without launching into a stream of questions and answers that were better left for the security of shelter.

Things were definitely not the same between everybody. Tigress and Po weren't sure who they should walk with, and had ended up walking next to each other between the two groups. Shifu walked at the back, grasping Oogway's staff as he battled to keep his hard earned Inner Peace.

The members of the Furious Five walked behind Tigress and Po, not even whispering to each other about what was happening. They were all completely confused and had no idea what to do. Who should they trust? It was obvious to them that Shifu knew what was happening, but they didn't dare ask him for fear of his staff.

They had only been walking for half an hour, but they'd already made it high into the mountains surrounding the Imperial City. The ground was covered in snow, and only Xue seemed to be immune to the cold. The thick trees surrounded the warriors, their branches reaching towards the skies to catch the moonlight.

"We aren't far now, the entrance is very close." Xue said, turning to the rest of the group. It still startled them how much she sounded like Tigress, though her voice was more feminine

Nobody replied and Xue turned back to the forest, continuing the way she'd been walking before.

After a few minutes Xue stopped, standing before a large, ancient tree in the middle of a small clearing. She handed Jade to Tai-lung and turned back to the tree. Wordlessly she bent down, scooping some snow into her paw. She heard the collective gasp a few moments later as the snow began to glow, gently at first and then brighter until it lit the entire clearing. She unsheathed one claw and dipped it into the snow that was now infused with her powers before slowly dragging it down the trunk of the tree.

As Xue's claw drew over the wood, hitching slightly in the uneven bark, the tree changed. It shifted just slightly, and instead of being the trunk of a tree it was a door. The door, covered in intricate patterns that mimicked the wood of the tree, hadn't appeared or grown, but had simply changed, becoming obvious to those who hadn't seen it earlier.

As Xue released her claw the door swung open, and warm light spilled out through the growing crack. At the sight of this Xue tensed, looking down the spiralling staircase that lay inside of the trunk.

"What's happening?" Crane asked. He was the first one who had dared to speak since they left the Imperial City

"There shouldn't be light." Tai-lung replied when Xue failed to answer

**~The Imperial City Palace~**

"You did WHAT?" Fang yelled, her voice echoing off the walls

Fang had been sitting on the palace's throne, but the news she had just received caused her to rise, looking down at the panther standing before her. The girl's black fur made her stand out against the white marble floors, allowing her no place to hide.

"We, um, we were defeated. And we let them get away." She said, eyes cast downwards

Fang almost pitied the young girl. She'd obviously drawn the short straw, and now she stood timidly in the centre of the massive room, no doubt feeling small and powerless. That thought brought a smile to Fang's face.

"This cannot go unpunished." Fang said, dismissing the guards at the door with a wave of her paw.

As shy as the panther was, she was incredibly beautiful. Something Fang could use.

She brought a paw up to her neck to touch the necklace that hung there. The cool metal began to glow hot under her paw, but Fang didn't flinch at the pain. The burns would be healed soon enough and they were small anyway.

The heat began to dissipate as a black shadow began to flow from the silver. Fang observed the panther cowering away from what must have been an unusual event to her, and Fang could only smirk at the girl's fear.

The shadow moved towards the girl, circling around the young panther, stalking its prey. The dark cloud drew back after a few seconds, beginning to take a form. Layers of darkness fell away like smoke, rolling across the marble floors of the throne room. The last of the shadows faded to leave a young, attractive wolf with dark fur and jet black eyes.

He took one look at the young panther, now shrinking back in fear, and she disappeared. There was no sound, and no build up to the action. The panther was there one moment, and in the blink of an eye she was just gone.

"She was very beautiful." The Darkness said "She will sustain me for some time."

"Beautiful? Her?" Fang said, resisting the urge to fold her arms

"Don't be jealous Fang. There are none that can match your beauty." He said, running a claw down her face

"There are others for you to feed on." Fang said "I can have some brought in."

The wolf stepped aside, motioning for Fang to walk to the doors. They opened as she walked towards them without being touched, the gap only large enough to allow Fang to slip through and speak briefly to the guards. As she strode back to the throne the doors closed again, the soft thud echoing off the walls.

As Fang waited she glanced around the throne room, resting her chin on her paw. The high walls were all a deep shade of red with exotic golden silks hanging across them, covering much of the colour. The large doors directly in front of the throne were the same, deep red with golden edges and intricate designs etched into it. Fang couldn't stand the colour scheme. She much preferred silver to gold.

The Darkness watched Fang with interest, and anybody looking would swear they could see a predatory gleam in its eyes.

At that moment the doors swung open, though this time they were pushed by two wolves instead of an invisible force. More guards walked in, followed by prisoners of every animal species in China. There were young rabbits, geese, snakes and even a few young wolves and panthers. But they were all female, and they were all exceptionally beautiful. More wolves followed them, holding weapons to scare them from running.

The young girls were forced to stand in a line, with a little persuasion from the guards. Once the girls were standing in the centre of the room-some shrinking away in fear and others standing tall and strong, masking their true fear.

Fang rose from the throne, staring down at the girls, drinking in their fear with a sick delight.

"Does this please you?" She asked the darkness

"Yes." He said, drawing out the words "They will do very nicely."

"They've been brought from all over China." Fang said, stepping towards the line of young beauties

"I can see that." The Darkness said, stepping along the line, examining every girl

He stopped in front of a young snake, her scales the vibrant colour of autumn leaves. Her bright amber eyes darkened with fear as the two wolves stopped before her, looking down.

"What is your name?" The Darkness asked, staring intently at the young girl

She opened her mouth to try and speak, but no sound came out.

"He asked you for your name!" Fang said, almost yelling the last word

"Her name is Lee." Another snake said from beside her. This one had yellowish scales and looked much braver than the other

"And who might you be?" The Darkness asked, black eyes darting over the unnamed snake

"I'm Suyin." She said, drawing herself up to full height "I'm the daughter of the great Master Viper and I command that you let me go."

"Little snake can bite." Fang said, almost amused "Maybe she might be useful after all. Practically royal blood."

"I agree." The Darkness said

He stretched out his paw and, with one clawed finger, touched Suyin. And just like that she disappeared, leaving only a cloud of black smoke in her place that quickly dissipated. Chaos broke out among the other prisoners, and the guards returned to settle them. In the few minutes of insanity Fang observed the Darkness taking three more victims, two bunnies and the orange snake from earlier, Lee.

The guards pulled the rest of the prisoners from the room and closed the door behind them, leaving only Fang and the Darkness in the throne room.

"That young girl, Suyin," Fang began "She was related to Master Viper, wasn't she?"

"_Was_ being the perfect word for it." The Darkness said, smirking evilly

"We should advance our plans to the next step." Fang said, moving to stand beside him

"Of course." The Darkness said, taking a step towards Fang "But first, I believe we have a little time alone."

The Darkness trailed his claw down Fang's arm, black swirls momentarily taking over her fur before he lifted his touch. As he did this the Darkness leaned in, almost closing the gap between himself the shorter wolf.

"I think you're absolutely right." Fang said

**As always, I love reviews. Like, more than I love chocolate. And I really like chocolate, cause I just finished some and it was YUM!**


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